A section of seating from a stadium in war-torn Kharkiv went on show in Munich on Monday, as Ukraine prepared to take the field for their opening game of Euro 2024.
Andriy Shevchenko, the head of the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) and the country’s all-time top scorer, was on hand to unveil the temporary installation.
“Today we’re going to start our games. It’s one team on the field but millions of soldiers to stay and defend Ukraine,” Shevchenko said.
“We play today for the people who defend our lives and our country.”
On a central square in Munich, organisers have installed a damaged section of yellow-and-blue seating from the Sonyachny Stadium in Kharkiv.
Built as a training location for Euro 2012, which was hosted by Ukraine and Poland, the ground was severely damaged by a Russian bombardment in May 2022.
The wrecked stand is intended to draw attention to the destruction of sports facilities in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
“A stand of Kharkiv’s Sonyachny Stadium was brought to the center of Munich,” read a UAF statement.
“It was originally built by Ukraine for Euro 2012, but was destroyed by Russian troops in May 2022.
“The UAF transported the stand across Europe to testify to the world that even football suffers under war.”
In all, some 77 stadiums have been destroyed during the war in Ukraine, the country’s football association said.
More than 500 sports facilities have also been damaged during the conflict, forcing many Ukrainian athletes to train abroad ahead of the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Ukraine face Romania in Munich on Monday in their first game of Euro 2024.
The exhibition will follow the team to Duesseldorf, where Ukraine play Slovakia on Friday, before heading to Stuttgart for their final group game against Belgium on June 26.
