'THE WAR WILL NEVER STOP US'

How Ukraine's women footballers are fighting on

- Rich Laverty

To say the last 18 months has rocked women's football in Ukraine would be an understatement. While the loss of life and on-going conflict with Russia has been the most tragic aspect since the war began in February last year, the after-effects have seen a devastating impact on society and sport, with many exciting plans for the women's team now up in the air.

After hiring Champions League-winning coach Lluis Cortes after he departed Barcelona, the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) had pulled off the ultimate coup and, as a further statement of intent, put forward a bid to host Euro 2025.

But all that was put to one side last year after Cortes, his staff and his players had to flee the country to safety. Cortes has yet to return, living in Spain with his family, while several players found careers elsewhere, though some have now returned to Ukraine since the restart of the domestic league.

Finally, after over six months without a camp, the team reunited in Poland in April before heading to Estonia for a friendly as they look to return to some sort of normal before the UEFA Nations League begins in September, with their European Championship bid hopes long gone.

"Everybody missed each other," says Tetyana Romanenko, who plays for Saint-Etienne in France. "We just wanted to play together and represent our country. Working with Lluis is a great experience, I can see clearly this is the best coach I've had, and we are still excited to move forward.

"We have no money at the moment, we travel everywhere by coach. The girls back in Ukraine, I don't know how they do it. They took the bus to Poland, it was like 24 hours. But just to represent our country, especially now, is an honour."

Nicole Kozlova, who plays for current Danish champions HB Koge, echoes Romanenko's feelings as they look to show the world they won't be stopped from doing what they love.