Football opens hearts

Every month, as part of its EqualGame campaign, UEFA is focusing on a person from one of its 55 member associations. This person will be an example of how football promotes inclusion, accessibility and diversity; his or her story will exemplify how disability, religion, sexuality, ethnicity and social background are no barriers to playing and enjoying football.

"I am a coach, but football has become more than a game to me," says Oleksandr Fomichov, who is using "the power of football" to improve the lives of people in his community. "It's an education, a philosophy and a phenomenon."

A lawyer and businessman by profession, the 32-year-old, who is originally from Donetsk, moved from the eastern Ukrainian city following the outbreak of unrest in 2014. He left behind his business, while some family members were unable to follow him. However, he has succeeded in creating a new life for himself in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano-Frankivsk.

He now works for the League of Tolerance charity, whose goal is to teach people about common values and the importance of inclusion, enabling them to look at life from a different perspective, which ultimately leads to positive change.

In a compelling analogy, Oleksandr explains: "Football pitches mirror society as a whole. We use football to show that we all should be involved in the game, and that in the same way we should all be involved in society.

"I see how people change when they start working together, they forget about stereotypes and prejudices," he reflects. "They simply meet and want to find out a lot more about each other. They become friends and then change their own lives and include others in their hobbies."

In 2016, Oleksandr noticed there were a number of different organisations in Ukraine helping those who were internally displaced. He decided to try something similar, and so the League of Tolerance was born.

"We are always looking for ideas," he says. "We are always ready to improve our projects, and we want to try and spark a response in the hearts of other people." Aside from promoting the need for inclusion, the programme is having a wider footballing benefit by helping to give quality training sessions to those involved.

"In the first year we held eight training sessions around Ukraine and produced 97 coaches," he said. "They are the graduates of our programmes, and each one has contributed to the communities in which they live."

Oleksandr has also realised that football is "a phenomenon" which can be used as a tool to draw children into education. He believes any subject at school can be related to the game, thus making it more interesting for youngsters to learn.

The same criteria apply on the football field. For him, it is vitally important that "everybody is included and nobody is excluded", with these rules relevant not just to football but to society in general.

"In life, if we show that we are all equal and that we are all included, then social life becomes brighter and helps us to all open up," he explains.

This ethos is shared by one of Ukraine's greatest-ever sportsmen – former multiple world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who insists that everyone has the right to achieve the goals they set in life.

"Every person can play football. We must deliver the message to every person that nothing is impossible. Everything is possible if you have the will, the fire and an understanding that you can achieve new goals," says Klitschko, now the mayor of Kyiv.

"The most interesting and important thing is that everybody has a dream. It's important to dream, but it's more important to do everything to make this dream come true."

Oleksandr's love of the game shines through in all he does. A decent footballer in his youth, he is now showing through his role as a coach that the sport has the unique power to foster inclusion.

"We invite people from the whole of Ukraine, irrespective of their background: some may have disabilities, some may be from ethnic minorities and some might be internally displaced," he says. "Thanks to our work, we can get all these groups together and show that, on the training ground, people communicate with each other and realise there is actually no difference between us at all."

Andriy Shevchenko, one of Ukraine's best-ever footballers, is also of the opinion that everyone should have the right to play football, adding that it is of paramount importance to have "respect for everyone".

"Football is an international game. It has nothing to do with politics or religion. It's a game that's accessible to all and it should be pure, not only in the top competitions but also among children," says Shevchenko, currently the head coach of Ukraine's national team.

A modest and articulate man, Oleksandr Fomichov pours his heart into what he fiercely believes will result in a better future for his community and country.

"Keeping faith in people is the most important factor for the development of every country and the world as a whole. We can build a sustainable society and use football as one of the tools that brings us together."

4 takeaways from Penn State football’s Blue-White game

While coach James Franklin likes to use the Blue-White game as a recruiting tool and to give back to the fans, there is still plenty of value for the coaching staff, especially with a young team full of position battles.

The White squad scored for the first time since 2015 and even got into the endzone. With so much change over from last year's team, there were plenty of storylines to watch for on the field.

Here are my four observations:

Lamont Wade's role

One of the more surprising things I heard after the game yesterday came from defensive coordinator Brent Pry. While Lamont Wade was moved to safety this spring, Pry said that it wasn't decided if he would play safety or cornerback in the fall. Wade spent his entire true freshman season playing corner with limited snaps. I originally thought he would be best suited to play safety when he got to Penn State, but it looks like Nick Scott and Garrett Taylor have the two starting spots locked up as of right now. Wade was put on the White squad on Saturday in order for him to get plenty of snaps at safety, but that doesn't mean he won't be sliding down to play as a slot corner in certain nickel packages. Pry is certainly going to want to utilize Wade's ability, but it might take some creativity.

McSorley's Heisman campaign is underway

Penn State was in a relatively new situation last season with two legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates in Saquon Barkley, who went on to finish fourth, and Trace McSorley. With Barkley headed to the NFL, McSorley has the spotlight to himself now in Happy Valley. Barkley isn't the only talented offensive weapon that is not back from last year's team, leaving McSorley to shoulder the load on offense in the fall. McSorley played a lot more than a typical third-year starting quarterback would in his last spring game, but a lot of that was due to Tommy Stevens' injury. Still, we got a glimpse of all that McSorley is going to be asked to do in the fall. And he was up to the challenge on Saturday. McSorley was as sharp as he needed to be, completing 10-of-14 passes for over 100 yards and a touchdown.

Don't expect an answer soon at linebacker

One of the biggest questions heading into the summer is at the middle linebacker spot. Jason Cabinda's departure has created a major void in the middle and it's still unclear who will replace him. Koa Farmer and Cam Brown appear to be the guys on the outside and Micah Parsons was moved outside midway through the spring. Jan Johnson started at the mike linebacker spot for the Blue squad on Saturday and looked pretty good. But the battle will continue to go on throughout the summer when Jake Cooper returns from his injury. Pry is going to continue to experiment in an attempt to find an answer at one of the most important positions on the field. The Nittany Lions will hope someone separates himself from the pack when training camp rolls around, but it's more likely that the starter won't be decided until the defense heads out onto the field against Appalachian State.

Mark Allen's impressive day

Just about every Penn State running back has been talked about this spring — except Mark Allen. Everyone is talking about Miles Sanders as the new starter, Journey Brown's potential and if Ricky Slade will play or not as a true freshman. But Allen is a nice change of pace for this offense and he showed that on Saturday. While Sanders only got three carries on the day, Allen was able to display that he could have a role in Ricky Rahne's offense. Allen ran for 30 yards on five carries, including a long run of 19 yards. Rahne debuted two running back sets with Sanders and Allen lined up on either side of McSorley. With the running ability of all three of those guys, Rahne has plenty of options in that formation and gives Allen value that not many people expected he could have.

Springing forward: Georgia football welcomes early enrollees to practice

Nine new faces joined the Georgia football team as spring football practice began March 20 for the Bulldogs.

One early enrollee, five-star running back Zamir White, suffered an ACL injury on Nov. 17. He underwent surgery, but will not be in full-contact drills with the team yet. White was seen on the first day of spring practice.

The other eight—Justin Fields, Warren Ericson, Cade Mays, Brenton Cox, Trey Hill, Kearis Jackson, Divaad Wilson and Devonte Wyatt—suited up and began practicing and competing for their positions.

 The loss of key players at the end of the 2017 season opens up spaces at different positions, offering some of the new recruits a chance to showcase their skills and compete for a starting or secondary position.

"I'm super excited about every one of those players," head coach Kirby Smart said. "There is a competition at every single position out there."

Of the nine early enrolled players, four are five-star athletes according to the 247Sports Composite. 

 The spring offers this group of newly enrolled athletes the opportunity to not only grow accustomed to college, but also to get a jump start on learning what is required of them. Junior tight end Issac Nauta said it offers them time to learn the playbook and how the game is played on the college level.

Nauta was an early enrollee himself, and said the fifteen extra practices and a G-Day game offers extra time to acclimate. Nauta said he thinks his time during spring practice factored into him playing during his freshman year.

The team's veteran players also recognize the importance of spring practices.

Senior defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter sees the talent the early enrollees are bringing to the table.

He said the spring offers them and the team a time to put the necessary pieces together as a unit.

"Those guys work hard, they have a good mentality," Nauta said. "Coming in early you are able to learn quicker from the older guys...I like the way that they work, they all got a good head on their shoulders." 

As veteran teammates, redshirt junior J.R. Reed said they each have a role to help coach and acclimate the new group of athletes to Georgia football.

The safety said he emphasizes to the new players that watching extra film and critiquing their performance every day is an important aspect.

Reed's main goal is to help mold the new players to prepare them for the 2018 football season.

In the 2017 season, Georgia went 13-1, and the team wants to see success again in 2018.

While last year's success looms over the team, Smart said this year's roster is distinctly different.

Smart's focus is on the identity this new group of athletes will create for themselves.

"Change is inevitable, but growth is optional," Smart. "That's a great mantra for this team."

UVA Scores in Football’s GameDay Recycling Challenge

The University of Virginia placed third nationwide in the 2017 GameDay Recycling Challenge.

The contest was held Oct. 21, when the Cavaliers suffered an otherwise forgettable 41-10 loss to Boston College at Scott Stadium.

UVA took third nationwide in the total recycling category, while coming in 10th nationwide in the total diversion category. Overall, fans, student volunteers and UVA staffers halved the amount of waste headed to the landfill compared to last year's challenge results.

"In an effort to make recycling easier and more accessible to fans, UVA Sustainability partnered with Aramark and the Athletics Department to provide more composting and recycling bins at waste stations across the stadium," said Nina Morris, sustainability outreach and engagement manager in UVA's Office for Sustainability. "With the help of more than 100 volunteers, UVA collected and sorted materials from tailgaters and fans, and diverted more than 45,000 pounds of materials from the landfill, making the 2017 GDRC the largest recycling effort since UVA joined the competition in 2010."

The GameDay Recycling Challenge is a waste-reduction competition among colleges and universities around the nation that seeks to increase recycling and composting efforts and spread sustainability awareness at football games. Sponsored by a partnership of the College & University Recycling Coalition, RecycleMania Inc., Keep America Beautiful and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise program, the 2017 competition reached around 8.7 million fans at 181 games, according to reported stadium attendance numbers.

Participating schools recycled or composted 2.06 million pounds of game-day waste during the fall season, which broke down to recycling more than 1.5 million pounds of bottles, cans, paper, cardboard and other materials. In addition, more than 540,000 pounds of organic materials were composted or recovered, including pre- and post-consumer food waste and compostable service ware.

These collective efforts prevented the emission of 2,410 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gases – equivalent to removing more than 500 cars from the road for a year.

"Placing as well as we did on a nationwide level in this competition shows UVA's unwavering commitment to recycling and waste reduction," Morris said.

This is the eighth year that the University has competed in the GameDay Challenge.

Winter breaks will pay biggest dividends the following summer

It was a bittersweet Christmas for me. Having not been selected in the squad for Brighton's game at Chelsea, I was afforded, for the first time in 16 years, the benefit of a Christmas Day off to spend with my wife and children at home without the worry of preparing for a game the next day or being away in a hotel in the evening stuck to my phone with them on FaceTime.

While it was amazing to be the recipient of a privilege that not only footballers but also nurses, paramedics, police officers and people with far more important jobs than me yearn for at this time, I couldn't help but miss the adrenaline high I've been conditioned to getting from the age of 16 in the build-up to a big Boxing Day match.

With a World Cup summer coming up, the discussion is already taking place about the fact England's top flight is the only major competition without a winter break and whether by the time the tournament begins its players will be too exhausted to perform at optimum level for their respective nations. Other countries have a rest period when players can recuperate from niggling injuries and mentally wind down in preparation for the crucial second half of a season.

I believe the Christmas period is something special – there is nothing better for fans over the festive season than taking children to games and soaking up the atmosphere, which helps make for fantastic matches up and down the leagues throughout the country. I couldn't imagine a Christmas in England without football.

At the same time, having spoken with numerous players who have worked abroad and were shocked about the amount of games over this period in Britain, every one of them said a winter break was key to performing at an optimum level in the second half of a season. They said that having two weeks off at the coldest time of year, when fatigue and danger of muscle injury is increased, allowed them to heal, refresh mentally and prepare for the remainder of a campaign and perhaps a summer tournament.

And while I support our traditional holiday fixtures, I'm also a fan of our national team and seeing the joy that a country can experience when its team achieves on the world stage is something I would love to witness next July. With the talent we possess in a free-scoring Harry Kane, an unplayable Raheem Sterling and a creative Dele Alli, we have to ensure we are giving them the best chance to make our nation proud at the World Cup in Russia.

To achieve that we have to introduce a winter break but not at the expense of the traditions that make our league unique. I see no problem in having a break in the first two weeks of the new year, enabling players to prepare for the long, arduous period to come.

Trust me, I've heard the arguments of former players who make the point they "played 60 games a season" and never complained. But the truth is, even from when I started playing Premier League football 12 years ago, the athleticism, intensity and physical attributes needed to compete at the top level is increasing and will only get more demanding.

The standards expected from players – despite the benefit of increased understanding and use of sports science, nutrition and technology – are becoming harder and harder to maintain. For the benefit of the national team, now is the time to make a decision to help them as much as possible.

I am the first person to accept how blessed I am to be a professional footballer, and making the sacrifices to play over the Christmas period and be away from family is a small price to play for the privilege of doing a job I love. But, in order to give top players the best chance of success, a winter break is something we should all be in favour of though not at the expense of a unique Christmas tradition.