Ukraine vs USA to promote peace

Ukraine’s football friendly against the United States on Wednesday will be played under the slogan “Peace for Ukraine!”, the Football Federation of Ukraine announced on its website.

On Monday, Football Federation of Ukraine President Anatoliy Konkov had said that the team would not travel to Cyprus for the friendly, originally scheduled to be played in Kharkiv but moved because of Ukraine’s unstable political situation and following US requests.

He then changed his mind about cancelling the match as a sign of respect for the US.

“After announcing our intention to cancel the flight to Cyprus for a friendly against the US, I received numerous phone calls from public and football representatives who expressed various views on this decision,” Konkov said.

Konkov held a series of meetings with team coach Mykhaylo Fomenko and Minister of Youth and Sport Dmytro Bulatov.

“As a result, we decided that we should play the scheduled friendly with US soccer team as they represent the country that stood up to defend our national interests and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

“This is a very important decision to raise the patriotic spirit of the Ukrainian people.

“It must unite the country and show the whole world how high our flag waves and how proudly sounds the anthem of the independent state.”

Ukraine’s Premier League has postponed the restart of the domestic championship after the mid-season break following Russia’s military intervention.