Support the Ukrainian Youth(2023 page)
Ukrainian children have been unable to experience the normal joys of childhood. I have created a GoFundMe page to fund raise and help send Ukrainian youth footballers to the esteemed Gothia cup tournament in Sweden (July 2023) to represent their country.
Where is the Money Going?
100% of the funds will be allocated to the youth football club FC Pidshypnyk 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.
Two teams will be roughly €18,000. The cost breakdown for 2 teams is as follows:
Registration fee: 2 x €220 per team = €440
Participation fee: 44 x €50 per person = €2,200
Accommodation costs: 44 x €240 per person = €10,560 50% covered by Gothia cup — €5,280
Mattress rental: 44 x €45 per person = €1,980
Bus trip: €3,800 round trip
Ferry ride: €3,505 round trip
Insurance: €600
Uniforms/kits: €2,000
Total: €19,805
FC Pidshypnyk is 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.
Who is behind this website?
My name is Markus Algard. I am a 15-year-old football player living in London, England. I participated in Gothia Cup 2022 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 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—when I return to play in Gothia 2023.
