This year, the main football symbol of Chernihiv region — FC Desna (Chernihiv) — celebrated its 65th anniversary since founding. Despite the fact that, due to the war, the team has suspended its performances at the professional level, it continues to live in the hearts of thousands of fans, former players, coaches, and club veterans.
On this occasion, the Chernihiv Regional Football Association organized and held a charity match dedicated to the anniversary of FC Desna, featuring stars of the club and football legends of Chernihiv region.
The match had a specific goal — to raise 1,000,000 UAH to support our public organization and children undergoing treatment for serious illnesses. The funds are needed to purchase medical equipment, medications, tests, and consumables for treating children with cancer.
The match took place on June 15, 2025, with the teams “Stars of Desna” and “Legends of Chernihiv Region” competing under the slogan “Together, Almost Everything Is Possible!” The main organizer of this charity event was the Chernihiv Regional Football Association.
“Together, Almost Everything Is Possible!” is not just a slogan — that’s exactly what we named our charity event. Because only through joint efforts can we help our children on their path to recovery and significantly improve their treatment conditions in various hospitals across Ukraine.
The charity match was broadcast live on the YouTube channel of Suspilne Chernihiv, which allowed us to raise additional funds thanks to viewers who could not attend the event personally.
As a result, during the charity match “Together, Almost Everything Is Possible!”, dedicated to the 65th anniversary of FC Desna and organized by the Chernihiv Regional Football Association by the leadership of Roman Solodarenko, we managed to collect 90,528.68 UAH. This amount includes contributions collected at the stadium, via a donation jar during the online broadcast, and through social media.
The collected funds were transferred to the account of the public organization “EVUM” and directed toward helping children undergoing oncology treatment in various hospitals across Ukraine.
Football Support for the Strongest
Additionally, after the match, the First Deputy Chairman of the Chernihiv Regional Football Association, Serhiy Datsenko, visited the oncohematology department at the Chernihiv Regional Children’s Hospital. Together with the EVUM team, he visited children receiving treatment for cancer — and, of course, not empty-handed, but with warmth, hope, and gifts.
The girls received postcards with sincere wishes from the best players of football teams, with their autographs, and trendy Labubu toys.
The boys, as future champions, received soccer balls signed by well-known footballers. Such a ball is a symbol of strength, endurance, and resilience; each boy also got a postcard with kind wishes.
“Only forward, only to victory!” — these are the words that echo at the stadiums from fans. Now they were spoken by footballers, addressed to children who fight their own battle against illness every day.
The EVUM team sincerely thanks everyone who joined the fundraising, supported this good cause, and all the partners who helped organize and conduct this extremely important event.
Special thanks to:
- The Chernihiv Regional Football Association and its chairman Roman Solodarenko — for the initiative and organization of the charity match;
- The Suspilne.Chernihiv team — for informational support and live broadcast of the match.
Thank you to all our friends and partners for your trust, support, and sincere hearts. This match truly proved — together, almost everything is possible!
