Vlad Shtyhilan: From Ukraine to the National League

The club are proud today to highlight the inspiring journey of our youth player, Vlad Shtyhilan. We have been working with the BBC on a feature on Vlad and his family, and that story is expected to be televised this evening on BBC North West Tonight, following the publication of this BBC article this morning.

Vlad's football journey has been remarkable. A talented player, Vlad felt he had lost all hope of realising his professional dream when war broke out in his home country, Ukraine, before he fled the country with his family when the conflict began nearly three years ago.

But the 18-year-old, who was 16 at the time of the Russian invasion, has since signed a youth contract at Altrincham Football Club and has trained with the first team on multiple occasions.

This season, he showcased his talent by scoring both goals in our 2-1 victory over Warrington in the FA Youth Cup. Additionally, around this time last year, Vlad made his first-team debut against Hyde in the Cheshire Senior Cup, marking a significant milestone in his budding career.

Today Vlad, and a few other Academy players, will be involved alongside members of Phil Parkinson’s first team squad in a behind closed doors fixture away at Port Vale.

We encourage all supporters to tune in to BBC North West Tonight to watch Vlad's story and join us in celebrating his achievements.