and FIFA and UEFA presidents discuss finding a safe manner to conduct men’s and women’s matches on home soil.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine was forced to abandon its leagues in February when Russia began an invasion that led in the deaths of “tens of thousands” of Ukrainian civilians and the bombardment of huge parts of several cities and towns.
Fighting in and around Kyiv and elsewhere has lessened as Russian soldiers have been redeployed to the east and south. There is optimism that sport will return to raise the nation’s morale, as it attempts to qualify for the World Cup by beating Wales away on Sunday.
“I talked with our president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, about how essential football is to distract,” Pavelko said in an Associated Press interview in Cardiff, flanked by Ukraine jerseys and a tactics board. “Everyone is obsessed with the war, from youngsters to the elderly.
They hear updates on fatalities and the impact of the conflict every day. We discussed how football has the ability to help individuals think about the future when they aren’t in a good mood.
They’re irritable. We discussed how football may assist us in thinking about the future.”
That is a future in which athletes will be able to return to the field in Ukraine and deliver inspiring sports moments of delight.
“So, with the president’s approval, we agreed to relaunch the Ukrainian championship in August,” Pavelko said via a translator. “We will compete on every level in Ukraine.
As a result, the Premier League, first and second professional divisions, as well as the women’s championship, will all begin in August. The decision was taken with the president of Ukraine in mind.”
Pavelko met Zelenskyy before flying to Glasgow to see Ukraine’s World Cup playoff semifinal triumph against Scotland on Wednesday.
After that, Pavelko went to Paris to meet with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA President Aleksander eferin in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
“I guaranteed them that the championships would be resumed in Ukraine amid the fighting… underneath the airstrikes, and we depend on their support,” Pavelko said. “We’re hammering out the details.”
The government prohibits males between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving Ukraine in order to keep them available for wartime duties, but footballers have been allowed to play for teams abroad, and Pavelko has travelled to key meetings.
He did, however, broadcast live from a stadium in Chernihiv that had been attacked by Russia to the UEFA Congress in Vienna last month, to demonstrate the magnitude of the devastation.
It is unknown which parts of the country will hold league games.
“We will discuss how to safeguard it with our military board and administration,” Pavelko said.
Shakhtar Donetsk led the standings when the season was halted in February and then legally declared over in April, securing a place in the lucrative Champions League group stage for next season.
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