Konkov elected FFU president
Monday, September 3, 2012
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Anatoliy Konkov, a distinguished player in the 1970s and former USSR international, has been elected as the new president of the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU).
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Anatoliy Konkov was elected as the new president of the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU) at the organisation's XIV Congress.
The former FC Shakhtar Donetsk, FC Dynamo Kyiv and USSR midfielder takes over at the helm from Grigoriy Surkis. Mr Surkis, president since 2000, decided not to stand for a fourth mandate, and will now continue his association with the FFU as honorary president after presiding as a key figure over an outstanding UEFA EURO 2012 tournament co-hosted with Poland this summer.
"During my reign as FFU president, I see my main task not only in continuing the activity of my predecessors, but in producing new ideas which could benefit Ukrainian football's future," said Mr Konkov, 62. "The FFU's priority is to ensure the revival of grassroots football. The FFU will continue to support FIFA and UEFA initiatives aimed at the future development of football."
An FC Avangard Kramatorsk academy product, Mr Konkov started his professional career at Shakhtar in 1968. He moved to Dynamo six years later and helped the club clinch the European Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Super Cup in 1975. He also won four Soviet league titles (1975, 1977, 1980 and 1981) and the USSR Cup in 1978.
A defensive midfielder in his early years before switching to a libero role, Mr Konkov scored eight goals in 47 appearances for the Soviet Union, captaining the side in 1977 and 1978. He was a runner-up at the 1972 UEFA European Championship and helped the USSR claim bronze at the 1976 Olympics.
The new FFU president retired from football in 1981 and went into coaching, enjoying spells at SC Tavriya Simferopol, Shakhtar, FC Zenit St Petersburg and FC Vorskla Poltava in Ukraine, and abroad with FC Inter Baku in Azerbaijan.
He also worked with Ukraine's Under-21 team and was in charge of the senior side during the second half of the EURO '96 qualifying competition, handing an international debut to an 18-year-old Andriy Shevchenko. More recently, he served as a sporting director for second-tier FC Stal Alchevsk.
