Yury Kovalevsky

I am a member of the Virni Levy disabled supporters association (DSA) from Lviv. We have been in existence for nearly six years and are not just another local fan group with a passion for football. It is something more - it is the lifestyle of me and my friends. It is our life!

Vіrnі Levy is a group of disabled people who are united by love of football and particularly our team, Karpaty Lviv. About six years ago, several of my friends and I decided to watch our favourite team live. With the help of the Karpaty NGO, we were able to organise it. We then had the idea to create our own DSA. We just had a passion for football and a great desire to realise our dream.

Since we established Virni Levy, we have found a lot of new friends. We are a part of the Karpaty fan movement of the team, the Zavzhdi Vіrnі NGO, and we are arranging actions with the Autofans group.

I would certainly say that Vіrnі Levy is a real "12th player" of Karpaty, and we have become as important to our team as they are to us.

For me the best moments in our history have been meeting with our team, when we have the opportunity to go to the training ground and communicate with the players and coaches. It is great to watch the way the team trains and perpares for the next match.

Of course, every football fan wants to attend away matches of his team. So far we have visited six away matches. The opportunity to go to another city and support Karpaty is a great chance to integrate with our fellow fans.

We have become as important to our team as they are to us.