Support the Ukrainian Youth (2024 page)
Ukrainian children have been unable to experience the normal joys of childhood. We have created a GoFundMe page to fundraise and help send Ukrainian youth footballers to the esteemed Gothia Cup tournament in Sweden (July 2024) to represent their country.
Look at the 2023 page to see a past success story.
Where is the Money Going?
100% of the funds will be allocated to the youth football clubs FC Pidshypnyk and FC Legion located in Lutsk, Ukraine, to pay for travel (bus), lodging, and tournament fees. The Gothia Cup tournament takes place July 16-22, 2023 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and usually hosts over 1,600 teams from around the world. The current goal is to send 2+ teams (44 players and staff) (but the club would be delighted to send more than 2), one boys team and one girls team.
We are very eager to bring as many kids as possible as it is more important now than ever for these kids to have fun and represent Ukraine through sport.
Two teams will be roughly €30,000. The cost breakdown for 2 teams is as follows:
Who is behind this website?
Founder: Markus Algard (London, England)
My name is Markus Algard. I am a 17-year-old football player living in London, England. I participated in Gothia Cup 2022 & 2023 and was inspired by the size and more relevantly the diversity of the teams in the tournament.
I hope to spread my love for the beautiful game of football with kids across the world who may not have access to international competition as easily as I do. One of the most powerful takeaways I had from last year's tournament was during the opening ceremony. Watching kids from a wide variety of places like Ghana, Mongolia, and Brazil wave their flags was such a surreal experience. It was extra heartwarming to see the Ukrainian teams being cheered on louder than all the others when they walked out for the opening ceremony by all 30,000 kids at the cup. I would love to see more Ukrainian kids have this experience of being supported by people from dozens of different countries in 2024.
NEW Team Member in 2024: Matty Shulman (New Canaan, Connecticut)
My name is Matty Shulman. I am a 17-year-old football player living in the United States. Throughout the past couple of years, I have frequently been involved with fundraisers and camps helping Ukrainian children. I have also been playing football my whole life and so when this opportunity arose, I knew I had to get involved. It is a perfect combination of being able to help others, while also being able to include my passion. I hope to share my love for football with as many people as possible.
