As soon as the air raid sirens had stopped, Shakhtar Donetsk’s players ran out onto the pitch for their final training session on Monday before Ukraine begins an extraordinary new season of its national soccer league.
As Ukrainian soldiers battle Russian forces in the east and south, Shakhtar are due to play Metalist 1925, from Kharkiv, in the opening game at 1000 GMT (8pm AEST) on Tuesday.
The match in Kyiv kicks off a day before Ukraine marks six months since Russia invaded, starting a war that has killed thousands of people and displaced millions.
“This will be a unique competition: It will happen during a war, during military aggression, during bombardments,” Andriy Pavelko, head of the Ukrainian Association of Football said .
Matches will be played without fans due to the risk of bombs and missiles. Two top-flight clubs — Desna Chernihiv and FC Mariupol — are being replaced in the 16-team league after their stadiums were destroyed.
FC Mariupol’s whole future has been thrown into question after Russia captured the club’s home city in a brutal three-month siege that Ukraine says killed over 20,000 residents.
Pavelko said much of the impetus to restart the season in the fraught circumstances had come from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian army, who hope the league will help lift national morale.
“Many people at the front lines asked us to start thinking about restarting football in our country,” Pavelko said.
He toured Ukraine in March and April to convince club presidents not to let their teams wither away, and to prepare them for a new season, he said.
Exiled from Donetsk
Shakhtar, one of the favourites for this year’s title who will also compete in Europe’s Champions League, are no strangers to war.Â
They relocated from their home city of Donetsk in 2014 when the city was captured by Russia-backed separatists.
The forced relocation didn’t stop Shakhtar’s on-pitch success, winning five of the eight league titles since then.
They were leading the table on February 24, when the season came to an abrupt halt as Russia commenced its invasion.
Owned by Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov, Shakhtar has previously relied on superstars from Brazil, where the club built a large scouting network.
After an exodus of foreign players caused by the war, Croatian head coach Igor Jovicevic — who was appointed in June — is now trying to rebuild the squad with young, home-grown players.
“For a long time, there was a Brazilian Shakhtar, a top team,” Jovicevic said on Monday.
“But now we have to forget about this, and prepare the new (team) as quickly as possible.”
Bomb shelters and goalposts
The new season presents an array of logistical challenges, including the risk of missile strikes.
All stadiums must have bomb shelters.
Matches will only be played in Kyiv, its surrounding region and two western provinces.
Every time an air raid siren sounds, a daily occurrence in most regions, the game will be stopped for players and match officials to take shelter in basements until the all-clear, Pavelko said.
That has left some players like Shakhtar’s stalwart midfielder Taras Stepanenko worried about how they will keep their muscles warm in games that are broken up with long breaks.
“It will be hard if it lasts more than an hour. Maybe they should set up some (training) bicycles for us,” Stepanenko said.
Military officials will be present at every game and if an air raid siren lasts more than an hour, they will confer with the referee to decide whether to wait or to postpone the match completely, Pavelko said.
Pavelko said the war has not only destroyed facilities but has also scuppered the futures of thousands of young talented soccer players.
“This isn’t just about losing stadiums. This is about a whole generation of footballers who won’t be able to develop.”
Reuters
