FARMVILLE, Va. — On the night he walked into the stadium tunnel, third-year Longwood men's soccer associate head coach Yuriy Sadula felt the kind of awe reserved for players—except this time, he wasn't preparing his team to compete. He was there to help make the World Cup run smoothly.
When Sadula stepped onto the field at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles as a FIFA Team Liaison Officer for Bosnia and Herzegovina, he wasn't thinking about tactics or lineups. He was thinking about logistics. He stood at the intersection of two worlds: the spectacle on the field and the machine humming behind it. "Probably like the day that you walk into the stadium," he said, remembering the moment. "You're standing on the sideline and you're like—wow."
For a coach who grew up dreaming of the World Cup, this was as close as it gets. And as he learned, the experience was as much about precision and teamwork off the field as it was on it.
A Call That Changed Everything
Sadula's path to the World Cup didn't just begin with an application—it began with an invitation from an old friend. "It was actually like a former player who's now a good friend from our old school, Indiana Tech," Sadula said. His friend knew of a position that required someone working in soccer in the U.S., familiar with international teams, and bilingual—preferably Ukrainian, Russian or another Eastern European language. "He thought of me, and he told me about it. I applied."
The fit made sense. Sadula's background—from in Teofipol, Ukraine—and his experience in American soccer made him the bridge FIFA needed. Bosnia speaks its own language, but the cultures are similar enough that Sadula could navigate the nuances. "The culture is fairly similar to Ukraine," he said. That familiarity helped him connect with the team beyond words.
A Coach in the World's Biggest Arena
For Sadula, saying yes was easy. "Just being part of the World Cup, which is obviously probably one of the biggest events in the world," he said. The assignment put him on the ground with Bosnia and Herzegovina, stationed in Salt Lake City, Utah, where travel to venues like Seattle and Los Angeles was manageable. His responsibilities were clear: be the main point of contact between FIFA and the team. "I was the person on the ground," he said. "I would be at every meeting, every media thing, every little task that they have on the schedule."
It was more than translating. It was troubleshooting, guiding, and smoothing out the unexpected edges that come with bringing an international team to the U.S. "Helping their staff and the team managers understand some of the things like how things in the U.S. work," he said. Those small details—transportation, timing, even field setup—mattered.
Inside the World Cup
The access was unparalleled. Sadula watched training sessions, observed how coaches built their plans, and sat with players over meals. "I was able to watch the sessions," he said. "I definitely picked up a lot of that stuff." When sessions turned tactical, he stepped aside, but the exposure still taught him. He saw how elite teams communicate, how they organize, and how they lead.
On match days, he stood on the sideline before kickoff, then moved to a spot just above the benches. It was the one time he didn't have a task to complete. The rest of the day was a steady flow of check-ins, confirmations and problem solving. And when Bosnia and Herzegovina played the United States—a country Sadula now calls home—the moment carried extra weight.
"I was rooting for Bosnia," he said. "But obviously working ... in the U.S. soccer system … I think once the game ended and I was seeing the celebrations, I was able to say, OK, my time in Bosnia is over." He watched the U.S. fans singing, the stadium alive. "It was kind of obviously a sad moment to see Bosnia lose, but at the same time appreciate, like, wow, that was pretty cool."
Lessons from the World Stage
The World Cup revealed something else to Sadula: how many people it takes to pull off a global event—and how precise every job must be. "Every big or small role you have, how important it is," he said. He remembered one detail that stuck with him: the bus. "For example, the team departs for a match—parking the bus in the correct spot because it's like, you know, live TV … and making sure you depart to the minute that was scheduled."
A bus parked two meters the wrong way could disrupt traffic, cameras and police escorts. That level of detail changed how he thinks about responsibility. "Every little job, every little responsibility is so important for things to go smoothly," he said.
For Sadula, the World Cup wasn't just a career milestone—it was a reminder of why he loves the game. The crowds, the colors, the coaches, the players, the stakes. "Being there was surreal," he said. And for a coach who once dreamed of playing on that stage, helping make it happen was its own kind of victory.
