The KODAK BEACH CUP 2026 beach soccer tournament took place in the Kyiv region during the summer.

  • Tournament Initiator: Yurii Rebikov
  • Tournament Organizer: Charitable Foundation “Ukrainian Peacemaker”
  • With the Support and Assistance of International Charitable Foundation “Narodna Rada — People’s Council”

Tournament Partners

  • Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee of the Ukrainian Association of Football
  • Kyiv Beach Soccer Association
  • Zazymie Village Council

Information about the “BRING BACK CHILDHOOD” project

The Mission

The aim of the tournament is to create a safe environment where children can play sports, communicate, spend time with their families, and simply enjoy being children — helping them regain a sense of normal childhood and faith in their own future.

The “BRING BACK CHILDHOOD” project was launched in 2024 in a bomb shelter in the city of Kherson.

It was there, in a city where war had become part of everyday life, that a simple yet incredibly important idea was born:

A child should not lose their childhood because of war

Today, this idea has grown into a broader initiative that brings together civil society organizations, local communities, businesses, charitable foundations and international partners.

Our Goals Are Simple:

  • Help children cope with the consequences of war
  • Give them the opportunity to participate in sports
  • Create safe spaces for children and their families
  • Bring back their smiles
  • Bring back a sense of normal life
  • Bring back childhood.

These are not simply words. They are concrete goals around which resources, people and organizations can unite.

From Local Communities to International Partnership

We believe that the strongest projects begin where there are people who are ready to act.

Today, Ukrainian territorial communities are demonstrating exactly this kind of commitment.

They identify the needs of children and families, search for opportunities, provide locations, mobilize local resources and are ready to become active partners in implementing projects.

That is why the formula behind “BRING BACK CHILDHOOD” is simple:

Civil Society Organizations + Local Communities + International Partners + Business =
Concrete Opportunities for Children

This is not only about building sports or recreational facilities.

We want to create living spaces where children can play sports, have fun, communicate with their peers, spend time with their families and, even for a while, return to a normal childhood.

The active involvement of local communities makes such projects clear and understandable to international partners:

  • there is a specific need
  • there is a location
  • there is a community ready to act
  • there is a civil society organization ready to coordinate the project
  • and there is an opportunity to jointly attract international resources.

From a Bomb Shelter to a Place Filled with Children’s Laughter

The first activities of the project took place during the war — in Kherson, inside a bomb shelter.

The next steps included events for children from frontline regions, sports and cultural activities, and the creation of opportunities for recreation, communication and social interaction.

One of the practical continuations of this work became the KODAK BEACH CUP — a charitable children’s beach soccer tournament that brought together children, sports organizations, the local community, volunteers and partners.

This is exactly the approach we want to scale.

  • From fear — to joy.
  • From isolation — to communication.
  • From forced waiting — to active life.

An Open Project for the World

“BRING BACK CHILDHOOD” has no closed borders when it comes to partnership.

We are open to cooperation with:

  • international foundations and donors
  • civil society organizations
  • sports federations and associations
  • businesses
  • municipalities and local governments
  • charitable organizations and philanthropists
  • and everyone who wants to make a tangible contribution to the future of Ukrainian children.

That is why “BRING BACK CHILDHOOD” is a project open to international partnership.

  • We do not simply talk about the need to support children.
  • Together with local communities, we want to create concrete projects, concrete places and concrete opportunities for concrete children.

Because war should not define the entire life of a Ukrainian child.

Life goes on. The future belongs to our children. And our shared responsibility is to help them feel once again that they are simply children.

BRING BACK CHILDHOOD. Together.