By Paul Nicholson
June 15 – On June 2 bomb Russia pummeled Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles, killing at least 23 people.
Ukraine has become too used to these attacks, and while life doesn’t carry on as normal, it does carry on, both proudly and defiantly.
On June 2, after the wave of attacks, this writer had an email from Kateryna Mashevska, head of marketing at the Ukraine Premier League, saying that she hoped June 3 would be calmer and checking that the interview with Ukraine Premier League (UPL) president Evgeniy Dykyy was still going ahead.
Football in Ukraine, as in every walk of life in the country, is used to Russia’s indiscriminate bombing, but no amount of bombing has stopped it going about its business, if somewhat differently than before.
“Our football has a social purpose. Life goes on and football is a strong tool to show in Ukraine and abroad that we want to return to normal,” said Dykyy.
“Football is the number one sport for Ukrainians and they follow the games. The actions of the supporters at clubs is important and communicates to fans who have to be in different places right now but can enjoy our games and their clubs,” he continued.
“Before the games and after we have social activities. A soldier always takes the first kick of the ball. We have social integrations to raise funds to help our guys. Football is important.”
In the 2025-26 season just finished the UPL competed 214 regular league matches plus the play-offs.
Of those matches, 20 were delayed by air raid warning sirens, 21 matches were interrupted by the air raid alerts while nine matches had multiple air raid alerts during the match.
The protocol is that when the air alerts sound the players and fans move to the bomb shelters until it is safe to leave and continue the game. Crowd sizes are determined by home many people can fit into the bomb shelters.
“If the sirens stay off for an hour then the game can restart. Last October we had a match that couldn’t be finished until April. But overall there was only one match that was postponed to the following day,” explained Dykyy.
“We have faced challenges in every aspect of what we do. We have managed to develop great attendances. We used to have big name international players in our league and it is difficult to keep the same level without them. We respect that some players don’t want to play in a country that is in a war but we are now starting to attract some of the best players again,” said Dykyy.
There is also the problem of harsh logistics. “With the absence of air travel it can take a couple of days to get to a venue. Some clubs can’t hold home games and we are very grateful to our national partners who enable games to be played.”
Running from August to May, with a winter break in January and February, the UPL’s teams
Play 15 home and 15 away matches. But the war has taken its toll on sports infrastructure.
Overall, more than 850 sports facilities have been hit by bombs. Among them, 179 were fully destroyed, 134 are partially damaged, and more than 400 have sustained severe damage.
Six UPL club stadiums have been lost due to the war. In Donetsk the Donbass Arena, Metalurh Stadium, and Olimpik Stadium; in Kyiv the NSC Olimpiyskiy; in Luhansk the Avanhard Stadium; and in Mariupol the Volodymyr Boiko Stadium. In 2014 stadiums were lost in Sevastopol and Simferopol in Crimea when the Russians first invaded and when, in reality, the war began for many Ukranians.
“Of course there are stadiums that have been damaged, including in Mariopol where there was a lot of damage. We cannot be sure if they were targeted or are just collateral damage,” said Dykyy.
Five of the current UPL clubs cannot play at their home stadiums – Shakhtar Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zorya Luhansk, Metalist 1925 Kharkiv and FC Kudrivka. Nine clubs have ceased to exist since 2014.
This has led to many games being centralised. Shaktar, for example, played their season in Lviv. Shaktar’s presence in the Champions League has become a high profile emblem and weekly reminder Europe-wide of the war in Ukraine. But it isn’t just about having a presence, it is important for Ukraine that they are competitive and that they are participating in a wider European narrative.
“European qualification has been important to communicate our message. Shaktar Donetsk have had direct qualification to the Champions League and we now have a second direct qualification to European league group stages,” said Dykyy.
Shaktar are the beacon for a football infrastructure that refuses to be broken. “It is not just the men’s league that is being played but so is an U19 championship with the Ukrainian FA also organising age group competitions,” said Dykyy. “We started a women’s championship in 2021. We also have a disabilities championship because of the war, it sends a message that everyone is included.”
A broadcast story worth watching
The success on the pitch is backed up by a remarkable and growing story off it.
In 2024 the league launched its own dedicated TV channel with the backing of all its clubs. It is a channel that is now taking the UPL to the world.
“We launched UPL.TV in response to current economic conditions where there are no significant local TV rights fees available, so we had to think differently. We do share matches locally from UPL.TV but we are a unique story. All our clubs share their media rights in one channel, it is all in one place,” said Dykyy.
Every league game is broadcast live on the channel, which also shows the European league games where Ukrainian clubs are playing and Ukrainian Cup matches. The channel is stitched together with studio and other in-house produced programming.
“The goal of UPL.TV is to popularise Ukrainian football and establish an independent, commercially successful broadcaster for the Ukrainian Premier League clubs,” said Mashevska.
The viewing numbers speak for themselves. A total of 67 million have watched live matches over the past two seasons. There have been 95.3 million total views on YouTube channels (highlights and studio programming), there is a 1.1 million average viewership per match week, with peak live viewing record being 692,000 for a single match.
In just two seasons the channel has broken into the top 10 of national broadcasters in Ukraine.
“We have an in-house technical team with a lot of experience who operate from our technical hub. Every match is covered and the team ensure that every match is of high broadcast quality. We broadcast OTT and there are several big players in the Ukraine market who we co-operate with to broadcast out signals. Internationally we have a deal with One Football as well as some local solutions in the US, Canada and the UK,” said Dykyy.
The league pays for all the production with the main commercial revenue stream being sponsorship where the UPL has been supported by local sponsors.
“The value for them is that this season we had 32 million viewers. Other platforms who carry our channel pay on the number of subscribers they have.
“We received some financial support from the European Leagues where we have always had a great relationship. When the war started they helped us a lot in different ways, including some financial support. Their investment help in the Ukraine league has been crucial and we are grateful for their support,” said Dykyy.
Sunday night (June 14-15) another barrage of approximately 70 missiles and more than 600 drones were launched across Ukraine, killing at least four people injuring 28 others in Kyiv. For Evgeniy Dykyy, his UPL team, the clubs and players it will only serve as a reinforcement to keep doing what they are doing and do it even better.
It would be trite to say that this is a story about the beauty and power of football overcoming political adversity in a troubled world and giving hope and relief. That absolutely isn’t the Disney-like storyline that is the UPL.
The UPL story is one of courage, belligerence and unshakable belief in doing the right thing for their country. Is football being used as a political tool to highlight the worst of the war and the best of the Ukrainian people? Absolutely it is and it should be supported and celebrated.
Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]