FC “Ruh” Lviv, whose owner and honorary president is Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy, became a bronze medalist of the UEFA Grassroots Awards as the best professional club 2023/24, thanks to its work and contribution to the development of European football.
The UEFA Grassroots Awards are awarded annually by UEFA to football clubs and projects that have made an outstanding contribution to the development of grassroots football in Europe. Since its launch in 2010, 142 UEFA Grassroots Awards have been presented to winners from UEFA’s 42 member associations. Candidates are nominated by European national football associations and winners are selected by UEFA’s Development and Technical Assistance Committee following the recommendations of UEFA’s Mass Participants Committee.
This year the UEFA Grassroots Awards are presented in partnership with EA SPORTS FC as part of a wider partnership between the UEFA Grassroots program and EA SPORTS FC FUTURES.
“Investing in the development of children is a key role of the football club and the Ruh Academy,” says Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy. “We develop future players, fans, referees and coaches.”
The Lviv Football Academy “Ruh” gained European popularity after the successful performance of young footballers in the UEFA Youth League 2022/23, where the “yellow and black” demonstrated a strong game, defeating powerful opponents. FC “Ruh” reached the 1/8 finals, overcoming two qualifying rounds. In the first round, “Ruh” won against the Polish “Zaglembe”, in the second round — a triumphant victory over the Turkish “Galatasaray”, but in the playoffs — they narrowly lost to the Italian “Inter” in the 1/8 finals.
Another talent of the “movers” was recognized by the International Center for Sports Research (CIES) — the “yellow and black” topped the ranking of the youngest teams from over 60 leagues in the world. The CIES Football Observatory calculated the number of minutes spent on the field by players under the age of 21 in the 61st leagues in the world, including the top 31 leagues in Europe. Lviv FC “Ruh” took first place in the rating with an index of 52.4%. The second place was taken by the Slovak “Žilina” — 44.5, and the third was the Austrian “Red Bull” from Salzburg — 42.7.
“Without a strong mass game, the elite level of football could not exist. The UEFA Grassroots Awards is an important recognition and triumph of Lviv youth at the European level. This is a significant achievement for the young football players of “Ruh”, which testifies to their high skill and perspective,” said Hryhoriy Kozlovskyy.
The honorary president and founder of FC “Ruh” Hryhoriy Petrovych Kozlovskyy congratulated the young footballers on such fantastic results and wished them more victories in the future: “Guys, the club is proud of each of you! You are the future of the “Movement” and it is very nice that you glorify the “yellow and black” in Europe from a young age.”
