Ahead of Ukraine’s Defenders Day, observed on 1 October, the 3rd Operational Brigade “Spartan” of the National Guard of Ukraine welcomed a new partner — Kharkiv Nezlamni FC, which competes in the Ukrainian Amputee Football Super League.
The partnership began with a joint training session followed by a friendly match between Kharkiv Nezlamni FC and the Spartan Brigade football team.
Kharkiv Nezlamni FC is an amputee football team for people with amputations or limb impairments. Most of its players are veterans and service members who were wounded in action. The club was founded in 2025 and entered the Ukrainian amputee football championship that same year.
The squad currently includes 20 footballers — four goalkeepers and 16 outfield players. Around 80% are service members wounded during the full-scale war. A total of 41 players have trained with the team. The club’s achievements include silver in the League of the Mighty Cup, fifth place in the inaugural Super League season, and silver in the Ukrainian veterans’ beach football championship.
The head coach is Oleksandr Tebenkov, a veteran of the 3rd Operational Brigade “Spartan” of the National Guard of Ukraine. After suffering severe wounds and losing both legs, he focused on coaching.
The club serves not only a sporting but also a rehabilitation role. New players learn to move on crutches, maintain balance, and gradually join training sessions. A professional rehabilitation specialist works with the team on an ongoing basis.
The club still needs additional support. Its main needs include rehabilitation equipment and funding for training camps. In the future, the equipment is intended to help not only the footballers but also other people with amputations.
Lieutenant Colonel Liubomyr Polupan, head of the public relations unit, spoke about the prospects for cooperation between the Spartan Brigade and Kharkiv Nezlamni FC.
“First of all, this partnership matters to the Spartan Brigade because it is about people and support. Many of our service members consider sport, particularly football, an important part of their lives, and many of us are football fans. Having a football team as a partner encourages our service members to support it. Kharkiv Nezlamni FC can gain more supporters. It also gives us an opportunity to introduce the brigade to a new audience and offers fans a clear way to support our defenders,” Liubomyr said.
According to him, cooperation will take several forms. These include QR codes for fundraising during football broadcasts followed by publicly available reports, joint information campaigns, and other projects.
“Together, these measures make assistance concrete and transparent,” Liubomyr stressed.
Liubomyr Polupan added that the partnership should also benefit the football club.
“It is an opportunity to contribute to a shared cause. A club with a resilient character and a brigade that has defended Ukraine since the first days of the full-scale invasion have much in common. We want this partnership to be meaningful — more than simply placing two logos side by side. We will support the club. Through our volunteers and the people who help the brigade, we will look for ways to assist the football team. The club has many needs, including rehabilitation equipment. We want to involve people who can both grow the club’s audience and provide practical help,” Liubomyr said.
He noted that Ukraine still has few examples of this kind of partnership, in which both parties help one another and work on joint projects.
The first joint event was a training session and friendly match. Before the game, the Spartan players learned the rules of amputee football and how to move on crutches.
Volodymyr Liakh, founder of Kharkiv Nezlamni FC, said:
“We are starting with a joint training session to introduce the game to players who have never used crutches. Our coaches separately explain how to move on crutches to those trying it for the first time, so they can understand how difficult it is. Watching the game on a screen is one thing; getting onto crutches makes you realise how demanding it really is. When I began creating the team, I tried it myself before teaching others. We want to show how it works, and we will finish the training session with a match,” Volodymyr Liakh said.
The club founder said he expects the partnership with the Spartan Brigade to promote veterans’ sport, particularly amputee football.
“We want a wider audience to learn about this sport and get involved. We are ready to visit wounded service members, talk to them, help them recover emotionally and physically more quickly, and perhaps encourage them to take part in sporting competitions,” Volodymyr said.
Kharkiv Nezlamni head coach Oleksandr Tebenkov said it was his team’s first experience of this kind of friendly match.
“The match went well. It was difficult for the active-duty service members. Even though they train in the gym, amputee football places completely different demands on the body. It was hard for them, especially at the start of the match. The guys did a great job,” Oleksandr Tebenkov said.
Tebenkov also said he continued to feel the support of the Spartan Brigade after leaving the service, which gave the meeting special meaning for him.
The more experienced team won the friendly match.
Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Krykun, head of the physical training and sports service of the headquarters training section, also shared his impressions of the game.
“Today our Spartan football team had a special experience — a training match with the Kharkiv Nezlamni amputee football team. I was not simply watching from the sideline: I went onto the pitch on crutches alongside my players. Honestly, it is incredibly difficult. A movement that seems simple to an ordinary footballer requires enormous strength, coordination, and character on crutches. When you experience it yourself, you gain an entirely different understanding of the path these men have travelled. For me, this match was about more than football. It was about strength of spirit, mutual support, respect, and resilience. We went onto the pitch to support Kharkiv Nezlamni, but in fact they gave us much more today. They showed us that even after severe trials, it is possible to keep living, playing, fighting, and overcoming yourself. Thank you for this experience. Kharkiv Nezlamni — you are incredible!” Maksym Krykun stressed.
The brigade’s service members and representatives of the football club are now preparing the next steps in developing the partnership.
