Players return to training as football resumes in war-torn Ukraine after 6 months
Players return to training as football resumes in war-torn Ukraine after 6 months: The sport of football was initiated in war-torn Ukraine again.
This was the first time in six months since Russia invaded Ukraine. The Ukrainian Premier League will be beginning on Tuesday. Shakhtar Donetsk is set to kick off the opener of the new season against Metalist 1925. The new season will be taking place at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex. The matches are set to take place only on grounds with air raid shelters. All matches are to be played behind closed doors with anti-missile systems put on alert.
Before the match against Metalist begins, Donetsk vice-captain Taras Stepanenko said, “It is always nice to come back home. Emotions are very warm. To say the truth, I was just sitting outside for a long time when I came home. These are good feelings. We play at the Olimpiyskiy. We repeated many times that this is a historical event to play football during such time. But we understand how important it is for the country.”
Throwing light on the probable chances of air raid signals during the match, he said, “We discussed this, but I cannot say it for sure: if it will take more than two hours, then it will be tough. Maybe, there should be some kind of bicycle for warming up, as we saw in the championship in England. Or we will maintain our muscles toned in some other way. Frankly speaking, I don’t know. I will face such a situation for the first time, like everybody else. We have a fitness coach. He will figure something out. Anyway, we will maintain the condition so as to come on and continue playing.”
On playing without an audience, he stated, “Let us say, attendance has decreased since 2014. And sometimes we even got used to playing without fans. Then we played without fans due to Covid. So, I think, it is better to stay at home for security and respond to air raids. We will play for fans to watch the game on TV and enjoy the football.”