Shevchenko and Gravina sign Italian-Ukrainian partnership agreement

FIGC President Gabriele Gravina and former Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko, who was recently elected head of the Ukrainian football federation, have signed an agreement which aims to support football programmes in Ukraine amidst ongoing conflict in the region.

The two footballing executives met at the UEFA Congress in Paris last week, where the pact was reportedly agreed upon. The agreement was signed around the same time and was announced on Tuesday.

As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, the partnership aims to offer adequate training to Ukrainian players and coaches while it is not feasible in their homeland.

As part of the agreement, Ukrainian players and coaches will be able to access shared training activities at the Italy national team base at Coverciano, as well as in other training centres around the country.

“I am proud that Ukraine has chosen Italy to start such an important collaboration with, in terms of football and values,” Gravina said.

“We have always stood alongside our Ukrainian friends through solidarity initiatives and sport projects, but this time we will provide a more organic and structured path for a technical collaboration, which aims to protect the future of Ukrainian football.

“Andriy has been a friend of ours for a very long time, he is the right man in the right place at the right time,” Gravina concluded.

Gravina has served as the President of the Italian football federation since October 2018, when he won the presidential election with 97.2% of the votes.