During this period, Shakhtar and UNFPA have implemented the 4 Hands Happiness responsible paternity campaign involving the Shakhtar senior team players, they have also formed a football team of girls aged 6 to 7 who conduct regular training sessions in Kharkiv. After combining efforts to achieve steady progress in such areas as gender equality, promoting the involvement of girls in sports, responsible fatherhood and combating gender stereotypes in society, the parties have evaluated the results of their work and extended the agreement.
Sergei Palkin, FC Shakhtar CEO:
- We are content with our cooperation with UNFPA. We have jointly fulfilled two campaigns by now: the 4 Hands Happiness and the formation of a girls’ football team in Kharkiv. We continue working on each of these projects these days. We plan to make further efforts to draw the attention of young people to sports, family values, the issues of responsible fatherhood, gender equality and the development of a tolerant society.
Caspar Peek, Representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine:
- We are grateful to our partners for implementing the unique initiative, in which the football club sets real value for people. This is a very important step to promote a stereotype-free environment, to broaden women’s rights and opportunities in Ukraine. This initiative is much deeper than just involving girls in the sport. It is about fulfilling their potential, the roles and the ability to be what they want to be.