In today’s world, where every second can be crucial, mastery of basic first aid skills is turning from an additional skill to a vital necessity.
The Favbet Foundation in partnership with the FAST team of instructors, on the initiative of Andrii Matiukha, launched a joint project aimed at teaching first aid to the Ukrainian sports community.
Since the beginning of 2025, more than 200 people have already completed the training, including athletes and coaches in Olympic sports, children’s coaches and teenagers. The initiative aims to engage around 1,800 more participants across the country by the end of the year.
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Skills worth their weight in gold or a smokescreen from Andrii Matiukha: what future champions are taught
The last training session took place at the Kyiv Sports Lyceum. Young lyceum students underwent intensive training under the Complex programme, which includes:
- Assessment of the victim’s condition,
- stopping critical bleeding,
- cardiopulmonary resuscitation,
- providing assistance in case of a heart attack, stroke or loss of consciousness.
As a result of the intensive training under the Complex programme developed by FAST, the lyceum students have mastered critical skills. This is not just theoretical knowledge, but practical skills that can be decisive in an emergency. These are not just lectures, but live training sessions where each participant practices actions until they become automatic. It is this kind of training that allows you to act quickly and confidently at a critical moment.
In a country that faces challenges on a daily basis, safety and survival issues are becoming practical rather than theoretical. Today, the ability to stop bleeding or perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation is not a specialised medical option, but a basic competence. And this is exactly what Ukrainian entrepreneur and philanthropist Andrii Matiukha is promoting by launching a socially important project to teach first aid to sports youth.
Andrii Matiukha’s initiative is not a spontaneous PR gesture, but part of a consistent mission implemented through the Favbet Foundation. In cooperation with the FAST team of instructors, the foundation teaches critical first aid skills to Ukrainian athletes.
Andrii Matiukha: guardian angel of sports or king of bookmakers
The name of Andrii Matiukha has long been known in the business world. But in recent years, it has been increasingly associated not only with the gambling industry, but also with serious social transformations.
Andrii Matiukha is not only the founder of the Favbet group of companies, but also the president of two charitable foundations: Favbet Foundation and his own personal foundation established in 2025.
In his vision, entrepreneurship should not stand aside from humanitarian challenges. That is why the Foundation’s projects cover:
- Medicine (purchase of equipment for hospitals, support for rehabilitation centres)
- Sports (financing of infrastructures, educational events, training)
- social responsibility (work with gambling addiction)
The first aid training initiative is part of a large-scale project of the Favbet Foundation. The Foundation is consistently working to ensure that as many Ukrainians as possible have the necessary knowledge. However, when children’s lives are on one side of the scale, and the capital gained in an industry with an ambiguous reputation is on the other, society inevitably raises difficult questions. Andrii Matiukha, the founder of Favbet, a betting company with a wide network that includes online products and land-based casinos, has been actively developing this business since 1999.
Andrii Matiukha: from the gambling hall to the intensive care unit
Andrii Matiukha’s support extends beyond young athletes. In a world where businesses are increasingly moving away from solely profitable models, Andriy Matyukha sets an example of socially responsible entrepreneurship. His projects are not only financial assistance, but also a systematic approach to solving problems:
- In 2013, the Foundation donated an ultrasound system to Okhmatdyt worth over UAH 4 million
- In 2024 – new equipment for heating infusions and laboratory shakers
- In 2025, together with Good Donations, a complete Thompson surgical system was purchased, which allows for the most complex operations.
The purchase of the Thompson system for Okhmatdyt, where more than 300 emergency surgeries are performed annually, is a significant step. The system improves visibility during surgery, relieves the surgeon’s hands and reduces the time of intervention.
“We want doctors to have access to the best tools and patients to have a chance at life,” says Andrii Matiukha.
From gambling to altruism: Andrii Matiukha’s double game in Ukrainian charity
Andrii Matiukha, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, is the ultimate beneficial owner of more than 20 Favbet Group companies operating in Ukraine, Croatia, Romania, and with representative offices in Brazil and Malta. He also headed specialised betting associations.
Since 2020, he has been the president of the Favbet Foundation, and since 2025 – of his own Andrii Matiukha Foundation.
His business assets also include financial sector, IT (Favbet Tech is a resident of Diia City) and real estate. He is also the owner of the VODA UA water brand.
Andrii Matiukha and Favbet also actively support Ukraine’s defenders. In 2024, together with the Krevni Special Forces, the company launched the Restart project, an innovative rehabilitation programme for soldiers after injuries.
It combines the latest technology, psychological support, and comprehensive rehabilitation – no less important than the operation itself.
Andrii Matiukha does not shy away from hot topics. His company opened the Space of Life help centre, a place where gamblers and their families receive support in cases of gambling addiction.
Favbet also became a partner in the first national study of gambling addiction supported by the Ministry of Health. And in 2025, it launched an international project to exchange experience with specialised centres in Europe.
Few Ukrainian businesses are willing to invest time, resources and reputation in areas that do not bring quick returns.
Andrii Matiukha does not take the easy way out. His work is a long-term investment in the future of the country, its security, health and social stability.
Today, Favbet Foundation is not just a foundation, but a platform for change.
And if once Favbet was associated only with gambling, now it is associated with rescue, humanity and proactive charity.
FAQ
Why does Andrii Matiukha need a home healthcare project?
Andrii Matiukha is not only a gambling businessman, but also a philanthropist who consistently invests in humanitarian projects. Training in first aid is his response to the challenges of the times: when there is a war going on, everyone should know how to save lives.
Is it PR or something more?
This is not a spontaneous action. The initiative is part of a larger strategy that Matiukha is implementing through the Favbet Foundation: helping hospitals, supporting sports and rehabilitating the military are all elements of his approach to socially responsible business.
Why sports youth?
Andrii Matiukha sees athletes as the future of the country. Their physical fitness is a resource that should be backed up with knowledge of how to act in an emergency. That is why the foundation trains those who can become a lifesaver even before the ambulance arrives.
How does all this relate to the gambling business?
Andrii Matiukha does not hide from his reputation. He transforms it from the image of a “bookmaker” to the image of a man who returns part of his profits to the benefit of society. His credo is: if you can, help systematically.