broader community ultimately led
to the success of our club but, the
way I put it, we turned the broader
community into Ukrainians. They
call themselves Ukrainians, they
call themselves Ukrainian families,
so I think we raised awareness, which
then precipitates further action.”
Internationally, football’s support
for the Ukrainian people in response
to Russia’s invasion of their country
has been compassionate, genuine
and, most important of all, useful. The
definition of football in the sense it is
used here is the game, the supporters,
the clubs, their staff or volunteers, and
their communities. The sport has
shown throughout history that it is
able to highlight political problems
but also go beneath the political layer
to help where it’s most needed. This
has been reinforced in recent months.
Football in Ukraine has
understandably been put on hold
during the crisis, but by continuing to
play in their own country the Nationals
and the Brooklyn-based New YorkUkrainians have been able to raise
funds as well as awareness. This has
also encouraged opposition sides to
support these efforts.
“We play here in Brooklyn, butour minds and our hearts are in
Ukraine,” says Iurii Vovk, a former
player and now a board member at
New York Ukrainians. “We have to do
what we can, and this is how we can
respond to the crisis. If we stopped
playing we wouldn’t be able to meet
our opponents and no one would get
the chance to ask
any questions.
We spread the
word within the
community, within
the Cosmopolitan
Soccer League where we play.
“If people know that tomorrow’s
game is against the New York
Ukrainians, before the games players
from different teams come to us,“We play here in Brooklyn, but our minds and our
hearts are in Ukraine”
Iurii Vovk, New York Ukrainians board memberFlying the flag...
a Ukrainian flag on
display in Brighton
Beach, known as
“Little Odessa,”
New York