‘Keep on living’: Wounded vets in Ukraine establish first amputee soccer club

During a recent soccer practice in Lviv, military veteran Serhiy Ivanov stood between the posts as goalkeeper in a 7 to 7 scrimmage.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, Ivanov said he loved playing soccer as a hobby. But after losing his right arm while defending the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, he wondered if he would ever play soccer again.

But then, during rehabilitation, he was recruited to join Pokrova, Ukraine’s first amputee soccer club.

“About 80% of the team are military guys, who fought and lost an arm or a leg on the battlefield,” Ivanov said. 

On the soccer field in Lviv, the team’s intensity was palpable. 

Those with one arm play as goalkeepers and those with one leg play in the field, either as defenders or attacking players. The players maneuver around the field — passing, shooting, and dribbling with considerable speed with the help of their crutches.

The team came together less than six months ago — and they are serious about their training. Next month they’re traveling to Poland to participate in their first tournament. They practice twice a week, and each training session lasts about two hours. 

All the players have been outfitted with prosthetic limbs, but they take them off to play. Sometimes there are collisions, and guys fall on the field, but they pop right back up and keep running.

“When you play soccer, you forget about everything … You forget about your pain, personal problems, and the problems that Ukraine has faced over the last 10 years.”

“When you play soccer, you forget about everything,” Ivanov said. “You forget about your pain, personal problems, and the problems that Ukraine has faced over the last 10 years.”

Another player on the team, Yuriy Haponchuk, agreed. Haponchuk served as a captain in Ukraine’s national guard. While on the front lines, he lost his left leg after stepping on a Russian mine.

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The Pokrova amputee soccer club came together less than six months ago. The players are serious about their training. Daniel Ofman reports from Ukraine.

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“Once I stepped on the mine, my first immediate thought was, ‘How am I going to play soccer?’ I wasn’t thinking about evacuation, about anything, I was thinking, how am I going to play soccer?”

After going through rehabilitation, he found a way to get back onto the pitch. The team captain encouraged him to join them for a training session.

After that, he was hooked.

“It was what I was longing for; I could feel that I could run again, I could play again, and then starting from January, I’ve been coming here on a regular basis. I try not to miss any practice, and I’m really loving it,” he said. 

Haponchuk said he played lots of sports before his injury including volleyball and soccer. After rehab, he was physically prepared to get on the field, but it was challenging in other ways.

“It’s sometimes difficult from a mental standpoint to adjust and start playing with crutches. What I find unusual is that sometimes I want to hit the ball with my left foot, but it will take time to adjust completely.”

Haponchuk feels driven to keep improving — a quality he attributes to his military service. As a company commander, he said, he is used to leading by example. 

“I want to come here, I want to train, to practice and show others that yes, you can do it, you can keep on living…”

“I want to come here, I want to train, to practice and show others that yes, you can do it, you can keep on living, you can keep on doing stuff that you’ve been doing before. I don’t want them to be depressed, I want them to look up to me and see that this is possible,” he said. 

At the end of training, all the players huddled together, dropped their crunches on the ground and leaned on each other.  

They finished with a slogan familiar across the country: “Glory to Ukraine.”

Editor’s note: Volodymyr Solohub contributed to this report.