13-year-old Alexander Popovich from the Let's Play! became one of the newcomers to the Shakhtar Academy U14 team.
Sasha began his career in football in his native Chervonograd (Lviv region), at the age of 8 he became a member of the social project DTEK and Shakhtar Social “Come on, play!”. At the tournament in Ivano-Frankovsk, the guy was noticed by Shakhtar's breeders, and in August of this year Popovich successfully passed the final selection for the U14 team, which is preparing for the start of the season under the leadership of head coach Vitaliy Vitsenets.
“He has character and hard work. The guy is well-mannered, modest. Accepts information well and listens. And then - time will tell. His qualities are good, so he stayed at the Academy. In the future, everything will depend on us as well, but to a greater extent, of course, on him, ”Vitaliy notes.
Sasha himself says that he is very happy to have the opportunity to study, live and train at the Shakhtar Academy in Schaslyve. His goal is to constantly improve his skill level and, over time, play for Shakhtar's first team and the Ukrainian national team.
We add that Popovich is not the first footballer of the Academy from “Come on, play!”. Earlier Nikolay Ogarkov from the Dobropol branch of the project (Donetsk region) passed the screening and was accepted. Already in the 2018/19 season, he became the main defender of Shakhtar U14, with whom he won the DUFLU gold medals. Today Ogarkov is a player of the U16 team.
“DTEK supports talented youth. Our project is not only about sports, but also about team spirit, mutual assistance and respect for each other. And as practice shows, this approach also allows you to grow champions. Sasha is our champion and our pride. But it is even more proud that almost 5 thousand children across the country, with the support of DTEK, play football for free, ”comments Tatiana Overina, Director for Regional Policy of DTEK Energy.
"Come on, play!" - the most massive social project of children's amateur football in Ukraine. Its geography includes 36 settlements of the country. The project is being implemented by Shakhtar Social and DTEK with the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children. Last year "Come on, play!" became the winner of the All-European competition of social projects More than Football Award 2019.