Andriy Shevchenko became the only candidate for the post of president of the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF).
This was reported by the press service of the association.
Shevchenkoʼs candidacy was supported by all permanent members of the organization — he meets the requirements and criteria for candidates to be elected as the president of the UAF. Shevchenko himself has already given his written consent to participate in the elections.
The extraordinary congress of the UAF, at which a new chairman of the organization will be elected in place of Andriy Pavelko, who is in a pre-trial detention center, will be held on January 25, 2024.
- Andriy Shevchenko was a professional football player in 1994-2012, after which he switched to coaching, in particular, he was the head coach of the national team of Ukraine. Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine (2003), Hero of Ukraine (2004), after the start of the full-scale invasion, he became the ambassador of the United24 fundraising platform. In September 2023, Shevchenko became a freelance adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The arrest of the current president of the UAF, Andriy Pavelek
Since March 2015, the Ukrainian Football Association has been headed by Andriy Pavelko. On November 29, 2022, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv sent Andriy Pavelko under arrest. He is suspected of being involved in fraud with the construction of a plant for the production of artificial grass for football fields. Pavelko was immediately released on bail of 9.8 million hryvnias. However, on June 16, the court decided to arrest Pavelko and transfer the bail to the state.
- In 2018-2019, the investigators of the National Police opened criminal proceedings against the management of the UAF and its chairman Andriy Pavelko due to the possible embezzlement of budget 270 million hryvnias ($11.16 million), which were allocated for the construction of football fields with an artificial surface in the regions, as well as due to the possible seizure with budget funds of "FFU Production" and "Sport Technology".
- Two more cases are being investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU): abuse of office by the federationʼs leadership, which led to inflated prices during the purchase of fields, and false declaration of assets by the federationʼs president Andriy Pavelko.