Pitch In For Ukraine Partner, Fc Shakhtar Donetsk, Opens The UPL Today From Kyiv After 183 Days Of Football Suspension By The War
• New Ukrainian Premier League begins today on 23 August 2022
• Match to be played day before Ukraine Independence Day
• Interviews with FC Shakhtar from Kyiv, Ukraine National Stadium, available
Today, FC Shakhtar Donetsk will kick off the 2022/23 Ukrainian Premier League (UPL) season against Metalist 1925 Kharkiv in Kyiv.
The match will be the first competitive fixture to be held in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February.
Shakhtar Donetsk played a friendly match against AS Roma in Italy on 7 August as part of their Global Peace Tour.
Today’s game (KO 13:00 CET) will be played behind closed doors and amid tight security.
The fixture will also see the launch of donations for Pitch In For Ukraine, an associated campaign, to open to raise funds for humanitarian aid.
Pitch In For Ukraine is a way for football fans to continue the support shown to people in Ukraine who remain embattled in a fight for survival.
Backed by a raft of leading EPL footballers and well-known influencers, Pitch In For Ukraine, has been created to making a meaningful difference. Proceeds from the campaign will support fundraising efforts which enable partners to continue with humanitarian aid across the war-torn country.
The Pitch In For Ukraine official aid partners are:
● UNITED24, the official fundraising platform of the President of Ukraine
● FC Shakhtar Social Foundation
● The Saving Lives Foundation
● The Kyiv School of Economics
Donations are used to fund official programmes that are creating safety, shelter and access to medical provision.
As part of an innovative digital offer, fans who donate to Pitch In For Ukraine will receive a PoP as a thank you for their generosity. Pixel of the Pitch (PoP) is a digital square, and a fan keepsake, of the pitch from the UPL’s stadiums. Each official PoP is engraved with the donor’s name and a unique edition number.
The Donbass Arena – FC Shakhtar Donetsk’s traditional home ground – will be the first stadium captured as a PoP. The digital version of the Donbass Arena pitch has created 154,000 PoPs. A £15 donation (18 euros) secures a Bronze PoP.
The Pitch In For Ukraine website details all the Ukrainian clubs involved and how to donate at www.PitchInForUkraine.org.
The donation platform for the FC Shakhtar Donetsk Donbass Arena PoP goes live on 23 August 2022 at 10:00 BST/ 12:00 CET.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Images, pictures, film, POV interviews or voice recordings can be provided. This includes footage from the FC Shakhtar fixture to take place on the 23rd August and also with AS Roma on 7th August 2022.
See FC Shakhtar Donetsk arriving to Kyiv at the weekend here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQvuMlKwsFo
New content can be provided as required. To arrange studio or remote interviews with representatives from FC Shakhtar Donetsk, and other supporters of the campaign, please contact:
Louise Holland, Communications Director for Pitch In for Ukraine, at [email protected] in the first instance or WhatsApp/Call: UK +44 (0) 795 141 6845.
