AFC Totton
When the AFC Totton players took to the field in preparation for their Southern League Div.1 South encounter with Evesham United on Saturday, they were joined by a young special guest from Ukraine.
Zlata Makedonska and her mother Svitlana are refugees from Zaporizhzhia in the southeast of Ukraine. The city contains multiple power stations, including the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – the largest nuclear power station in Europe – it is also an important industrial centre for steel, aluminium and cars.
As such, the city has been targeted by Russian air strikes and drone attacks during the ongoing war, leading to the dispersal of many of the city’s population of 723,000 to safer locations across Europe.
Local Calmore residents Jonathan and Emma Hughes signed up for the Government’s scheme to house refugees and have been hosting Svitlana and 8-year-old Zlata for six months.
“I wrote to AFC Totton to enquire about getting season tickets for them, even though the season is well underway,” explained Jonathan.
“Steve Brookwell (AFC Totton’s CEO) was happy to sort that out, and he suggested that Zlata might also like to be the team’s mascot for a day, which she was really excited about. It’s a lovely gesture and a great way to welcome her and Svitlana to the Totton community.”
Svitlana and Zlata love their football and are keen fans of Shakhtar Donetsk, the 13-times winners of the Ukrainian Premier League. They met Jimmy Ball on the sidelines of the pitch a good while before kick-off, posing for photos in which Zlata proudly displayed her AFC Totton football signed by the players.
The youngster doesn’t speak much English, but with a big smile on her face, Zlata was able to respond to Jimmy’s welcome with an enthusiastic, “I so happy!”
After meeting the players, Zlata ignored the poor weather conditions to accompany the team onto the pitch for their pre-match warm-up and to meet and greet the match officials and the Evesham United players.
Then she and Svitlana settled down to watch what transpired to be a competitive match (you can read the full report here), in which The Stags’ new signing Charlie Davis marked his Totton debut with an injury-time winner from the edge of the area to claim all three points for his new team.
If you would like to enquire about our Matchday Mascot package, please contact Ken Wilde via email at [email protected]
