Football returns to war-torn Ukraine as new league season starts

It’s been six months since Russia invaded Ukraine, and during that time football stopped in the country. 

But now, a new season will start on Tuesday in Kyiv – with the goal of trying to bring some normalcy to the 44 million population. 

The 65,000-capacity Olympic Stadium will see the opening day kick-off between Shakhtar Donetsk and Metalist 1925 from Kharkiv. 

No fans will be allowed in the stadium and players must be rushed to bomb shelters if air-raid sirens sound. 

Ukraine’s Premier League returns with 16 teams

Ukraine’s Premier League will return for the first time since mid-December when the league was paused for a scheduled midwinter break. 

Games were due to resume on 25 February, but the Russian invasion had started just one day earlier. 

The 16-team league restarts without Desna Chernihiv and Mariupol – two teams from cities that have suffered heavy destruction. 

All games will be played in and around Kyiv and further west – they will be shown domestically, abroad and on Youtube.