Two football teams banned from cities in war-ravaged eastern Ukraine will play against each other in the safer western part of the country on Sunday with the national title at stake.
The confrontation between Shakhtar Donetsk, the leader of the Ukrainian Premier League and Dnipro-1, number two in Arena Lviv, could be decisive in a football season that ends on schedule in remarkable circumstances.
The stadium was one of four in Ukraine, including Shakhtar’s home in Donetsk, which was safe enough from Russian aggression in 2012 to co-host that year’s European Championships with Poland.
Shakhtar leads by five points and needs just a draw this weekend to secure the title ahead of the final scheduled round on June 4.
“I think it might be one of our best games ever,” Ukrainian league president Ievgen Dykyi told The Associated Press in a call from Kyiv this week. “Because the situation is very difficult now and all players understand this.”
In Dnipro, the Russian army attacked a medical clinic on Friday, killing at least two and injuring more than 20, including children.
Still, the football season continues with the blessing of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an effort to keep everyday life somewhat normal.
The kick-off at 2 p.m. in Lviv on Sunday opens the 29th round in the 16-team competition. All 224 previously scheduled games in the league season have been completed despite the brutal war. There are now 16 matches left.
That seemed an unlikely feat in Lviv on August 24 last year when air raid warnings disrupted the second day of play.
It was also a national holiday, celebrating Ukraine’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and the match between Lviv club Rukh Vynnyky and Metalist lasted four and a half hours after the teams stopped play four times at to seek shelter.
League officials had considered starting the league season in Poland or Turkey, but decided it was their “moral obligation” to stay in Ukraine. They relied on financial help from their fellow members of the 29-nation European Leagues group.
“It was like a symbol of sport for our people and our warriors,” Dykyi said, adding that soldiers connected with the league by sending video clips of them watching matches online from the front lines. “They sent their heartfelt ‘thank you’ that the championship can be played.”
In these circumstances, fans are almost completely excluded. A limit of 280 people was imposed on site per match.
“At the moment we don’t have the possibility to bring the supporters back to the stadium because of the security and shelter problems,” said Dykyi, who worked in Kiev for the past year.
He said his family takes shelter in their bathroom during air raids.
“Now we may have unfortunately gotten used to this,” he said.
Fans across Europe also got used to seeing Ukrainian football teams in international competitions, while Russian teams remain suspended by FIFA and UEFA.
The national team will play in qualifying for Euro 2024 and will face defending champions Italy in Milan in September, before taking on England at a yet-to-be-determined neutral venue.
Shakhtar and Dnipro-1 advanced to knockout rounds in UEFA competitions this year, and a place in the Champions League group stage next season is the likely reward for winning the Ukrainian title.
The millions of dollars in UEFA prize money from European competition is an even more important source of income for clubs that have seen so many sponsors and clients shut down during the war.
“A lot of teams are suffering a lot,” said Dykyi. “Many of the club owners’ businesses have been destroyed.”
Shakhtar owner Rinat Akhmetov’s venture included the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, which a year ago was a powerful symbol of resistance in the city devastated by Russian attacks.
The Mariupol football club could not continue, although a place in the top division is being held open for his return. The league made the same offer to the Desna Chernihiv club.
Dykyi became emotional when he told the story of a Mariupol club official’s escape from the city on mine-strewn roads last year. “Maripol is a terrible story.”
The uncertainty and insecurity for Ukrainian football caused by the war saw Shakhtar lose his Italian coach, Roberto De Zerbi, last year, who became a widely acclaimed success in England with Brighton.
Shakhtar then hired Croatian Igor Jovićević from Dnipro-1, which then appointed Oleksandr Kucher. He spent 11 years with Shakhtar and featured in the legendary 2009 UEFA Cup winning team.
The close coaching ties add an extra layer to a match on Sunday that is something of a victory for all of Ukraine.
“In the first months[(of the war] it was a really scary situation,” Dykyi said. “We can’t imagine playing our championship in this situation.”