PREVIEW

Stand From Destroyed Kharkiv Stadium Displayed In Munich To Mark Ukraine's Appearance At EURO 2024. Before the Ukrainian national team’s first match of EURO 2024, the Ukrainian Association of Football displayed a destroyed stand from Kharkiv's Sonyachny stadium at the Wittelsbacherplatz in Munich. Sonyachny was originally built for EURO 2012, and was destroyed by Russian troops in May 2022. The damaged stand has travelled across Europe to testify to the world that football is not immune from the war to date, 500 sports infrastructure facilities in Ukraine have suffered from Russian bombings and missile strikes. "When I was the coach of the national team, we often came to Kharkiv for training; we prepared for the EURO 2021 qualifiers at Sonyachny,” says Ukrainian football legend Andriy Shevchenko. ”However, even if football pitches or stands cannot withstand Russian shells, we will never stop standing for our country and telling the world about this ruthless war.” Unfortunately, Ukraine suffered a surprise defeat in their first match, losing 3-0 against Romania.