"My dream is to become a professional football player!"

"My favourite club is Manchester City, and my favourite player is Neymar. Modrić is also great", Adam (13) from Mariupol shared with us.

Adam arrived in Split with his football club Shakhtar in March. His mother was in Mariupol, where the family is from.

"It was difficult because I was in Mariupol. It wasn't possible to make a phone call. The situation in Mariupol was difficult. He was worried, he didn't know how I was, whether I was safe, whether I was alive. It was easier for me because at least I knew that he was not in Ukraine, that he was safe and far from the war", his mother Daria told us. She managed to get to safety in Croatia only two months later.

Daria has always supported Adam in his desire to become a football player. Sport helps him and the other children who fled from Ukraine a lot in difficult times: "Sport gives them discipline and rules. It gives them additional people in their lives, coaches who take care of them and whom the children respect. Sport keeps them busy because it involves daily training, which also helps them mentally and calms them down."

There are currently 155 children who fled Ukraine in Split, Croatia. Most of them came organized with their clubs and coaches who take care of them. In cooperation with partners, UNICEF provides psychosocial support to children and adults who care for them.

"When I came, they immediately gave me the list of children who would like to talk to a psychologist. That first week there was also a language barrier, but now we have a translator in Ukrainian who was also provided by UNICEF", psychologist Josipa Herceg told us. She hopes to provide sufficient support to the children and adults taking care of them so that once the war is over, they remember the time spent in Split fondly.

It's summer break, so children's days are filled with training, meals, going to the beach and hanging out with friends from the club.