New Delhi: Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, the crowd for football games had to be restricted and mostly depended on the line of threat and the capacity of the bomb shelter nearby. The Ukraine Premier League, for the first time since 2022, is witnessing a full season with fans in attendance as martial law is slowly easing on public gatherings.
Though the threats about airstrikes haven’t decreased, Dynamo Kyiv supporters were quick to grab the 1,700 tickets available for all the games at home in Valeriy Lobanovkyi Stadium, which has a 16,000-seat capacity. In all the tensions that the country is going through, an intense spot of footballing rivalry is a welcomed relief.
During the Europa home matches, Dynamo had to relocate to Hamburg, Germany. However, during the domestic competition, the club is back in action in Kyiv. Fans grab every opportunity to see this football action. The atmosphere in the stadium is friendly as witnessed during title contenders Dynamo game against Zorya Luhansk, who are currently in the middle of the table. During the Russia’s attacks, the club was ousted.
Fans brief respite from border conflicts
Vitalii Kozubra, a fan of Dynamo, noted that despite the border conflicts, a game of football was something that everyone could enjoy. The Zorya fans were seen socializing with the locals. Kozubra was with his 9-year-old, who observed that the game in the stadium and on television are completely different experiences.
The teams took the field with all of the 22 players enveloped with the Ukrainia flags, with the crowd which included servicemen going up in applause. The stadium was buzzing with the crowd enjoying every moment of the action. Like all football games, young fans rushed to the few foreign players from Brazil, Senegal, Panama and Ivory Coast who have stayed back despite the ongoing war.
During air raids, for hours players and fans have on many occasions have stayed cooped in bomb shelters, as sirens blast through loudspeakers and mobile phones. Dynamo club spokeman Andrii Shakhov mentioned that there were no interruptions in home games, however, it is a different story for away games. Shakhov says, The longest one we had lasted 4½ hours because of four air alarms.”
Ukrainian players are required to join the service at the age of 25, but clubs can apply for exemptions under protection laws for business. The ongoing war has forced the teams to play outside their home turf on a permanent basis, and two others have withdrawn due to stadium damage.
Football unites the great divide
Football is linked to Ukrainian tradition and was even used as an expression of their national identity, defying authority during the Soviet era in the 1980s. Even then, the country was a constant source of football. After their independence, football was the point of national pride even through all the political and financial crises. The national team had reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 World Cup, and the nation was a co-host during the 2012 European Championships.
Across the country’s landscape, fans of different clubs have set aside their violent rivalries of decades and stayed united since the 2013-14 uprisings that protested the Russian influence. The truce as many fans define is to unite against the “common enemy”. The conflicts hold little meaning now due to the on going foreign conflicts that the country faces.
Dynamo beats Obolon in the final match of the year 💙 pic.twitter.com/t1G3S5XvJy
— FC Dynamo English (@dynamokyiven) December 11, 2023
In fact the fan organizations are doing their bit to support the on going war, whether through fund raising, supporting veterans or even providing technical skills. Dynamo officials believe that almost 80% of their supporters of the pre-2022 era are now on the frontline or somehow associated with the military activities.
East of Kyiv, is the badly hit Kharkiv region which borders Russia. Servicemen from the 3rd Assault Brigae played a match on a field close to bombed building. A chunk of the fighters were recruited through football associations. Fans have played a huge role in the war as many servicemen observe. A combat medic went on to say that football has been morale boost for soldiers in deployment.
The personnel went on to say that they rent spaces at every opportunity for games as football remains the “only source of entertainment.” Soldiers who are home on leave feel lucky to get a chance to witness the game. As one of the servicemen said, “It is just football, just a game.” This notion is constantly echoing. There is no bad blood between the clubs.
In Kyiv, Dynamo won 2-0 over Zorya, with Vitaliy Buyalskyi and Maksym Braharu scoring in the second half. However, results mean little, and when the Zorya players left the field, dejected by the result, they were still cheered by the crowd.
