As Ukrainian federation president Andrei Pavelko told the AP news agency, the national league is about to resume competition. There should be matches again as early as August.
The decision to restart Premier League play, which was suspended on 24 February, was taken jointly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj, Pavelko told the AP. The latter had also spoken to the heads of FIFA and UEFA to find a safe way to host home matches for the country’s national teams, AP further reported on Sunday.
Sport as a means of hope
“I talked to President Selenskyj about how important football is as a distraction,” Pavelko said. “From children to old people, everyone is focused on the war. Every day they get information about deaths, about the effects of the war.” Football, he said, has a great power to help people in Ukraine believe in a future again.
