Taras Kontsevich

I have loved football ever since I was a child, when I would often attend mathes with my father. We are fans of Karpaty Lviv in Ukraine.

After I had left school I wanted to carry on watching live football. This was not always easy, as disabled people can face a lot of obstacles at some stadiums. My father had died and so wasn’t there to accompany me.

Now as a student, I have decided to start attending football matches again. I asked Karpaty to help me to attend matches, and they gladly agreed.

Since then, an idea to create a disabled supporters association (DSA) arose. The local training and rehabilitation center "Dzherelo" is charity organisation for disabled people, and became the base for it.

Our DSA has now been functioning for six years. Young people attend all home games of the club, which helps them to integrate into the social environment and improve their social lives. Moreover our DSA has travelled to five away matches in Uzhgorod, Kyiv, Lutsk, Donetsk and Kharkiv. It's hard to express everything in words, because every trip that we have made has been a great experience and achievement.

I am 27 years old and I can’t imagine my life without live football and especially without beloved team, Karpaty. It has brought me such great emotions, adventures, new experiences and friends.