Oleksandr Zinchenko

Oleksandr Zinchenko is a four times English football champion, as well as the defender of London’s “Arsenal” and Ukraine’s national football team. Since the first days of the full-scale invasion, he has done everything in his power to raise awareness of the war: raised funds, gave interviews, and brought the Ukrainian flag each time he went out on the field. When Manchester City finally won the Premier League, Zinchenko wrapped the English cup in a blue-and-yellow bicolor. “Unforgettable emotions for me — for all Ukrainians who are at the moment starving, and surviving in my country because of russian aggression. I am so proud to be Ukrainian,” he said.

At the end of May 2023 the football player came to Ukraine, now a defender in the “Arsenal” lineup. During his meeting with President Zelenskyy it was announced that Zinchenko would be joining the UNITED24 team of ambassadors. His first project became Game4Ukraine — a charity match in London to support Ukraine. The game will take place at the Chelsea home stadium, the Stamford Bridge stadium, with participation from football legends and modern star players. Together with Zinchenko, another UNITED24 ambassador wore the captain’s band — Andriy Shevchenko.

The goal of the match was to raise funds for the restoration of the Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky lyceum in Chernihiv oblast. The educational facility has suffered much destruction from russian shellings in March 2022. Thanks to Game4Ukraine, 415 children will be able to return to their studies.

Shevchenko and Zinchenko visited the lyceum and even played football with the school team, causing great furor. At the start of the Game4Ukraine charity match, famous footballers took to the field, escorted by Ukrainian children. The players took a knee, so the children could write their names on their backs. The match was stopped in the 24th minute to honor the courage of Ukrainians, followed by a round of applause.