On September 11, the football teams of Luhansk State University and Sevastopol State University were given a tour of Space Explorers Park named after Yuri Gagarin.

The athletes saw a replica of the bus that brought Yuri Gagarin to the take-off platform, bas-reliefs of famous cosmonauts, a wall with the stages of space exploration, and they made a wish near the cedar alley.

The guests were told that Saratov was an important place for Yuri Gagarin. Here, he studied at Saratov Industrial Technical College, here, he joined the local aeroclub of Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy, the USSR, and, for the first time, took to the sky at a sports airfield, his Vostok-1 landed in Saratov Region, near the Volga.

The participants of the excursion trip were interested in the fact that the famous dogs Belka and Strelka were originally called Drop and Vilna. The guide explained at what age the astronauts had been depicted on the bas-reliefs, and commented on the grades Gagarin had received during his studies and where he had been supposed to land.

‘Saratov is an interesting city with beautiful architecture. I am happy and glad that we won on the first day of the games. We also went on an interesting excursion. I would like to thank the organisers who have arranged it. Space Explorers Park has impressed me with the landing site of Yuri Gagarin and the Cosmonauts Alley. I expect only victories at the tournament. I want the team to always succeed. Everyone sets up for the game in different ways, but everyone are going to win,’ Aleksei Mardus, a right-back from LSU.

The defensive midfielder of the team from Luhansk Alexander Varvanin shared his impressions after the first day of the games. ‘The impressions of the game are good. I played against a close friend from Sevastopol State University. Before the game, he told me that he would defeat us. Therefore, it was nice to beat him, although it was difficult. The team “dug in”, and we could not open the other team’s defence, but, in the end, we were able to do it. I think that the next games will be difficult, because the matches follow each other and every day. It will be necessary to include moral and volitional qualities and play on. In difficult moments, I become strong and do my best until the last second. I expect that we will win all the games. You should always believe in victory!’

After the tour, the players of Sevastopol State University and Luhansk State University went to rest and tune in to new matches.