The Football Federation of Ukraine demonstrated this Monday a fragment of the stands of the Kharkov stadium, destroyed by Russian explosions, in Munich, where the Ukrainian national team will debut at Euro 2024 against Romania.
The temporary exhibition was opened in the square of the capital of the German state of Bavaria, Kyiv’s sister city since 1989, in the presence of the federation president, former football player Andrei Shevchenko, and in front of hundreds of supporters from Ukraine.
“Today we debut [no Euro2024]. It took a team on the field and a million soldiers to defend Ukraine. Today we will play for the people who defend our country and ours,” Shevchenko said.
The stadium in Kharkov was destroyed by Russian troops in May 2022, and the fragment on display in Munich is part of an interactive installation that aims to raise awareness of the 500 sports venues in Ukraine that were bombed during the two years of war.
The Ukrainian team will face Romania in Munich from 15:00 local time (14:00 in Lisbon) in the first round game of Group E, which also includes Belgium and Slovakia, who will meet in Frankfurt from 18:00 (17:00).