Wanderers strengthen links with FC Shakhtar Donetsk

Shakhtar Donetsk was welcomed to the Toughsheet Community Stadium this week. 

The top-tier club, which is based in the Ukrainian region of Donbas, has not been able to play in its home city since 2014, when Russia invaded the territory. 

A "nomad club", it now plays its home games in Lviv, Western Ukraine, while its Champions League fixtures were recently announced to be played in Gelsenkirchen in Germany, 1,500 miles from home, this coming season. 

Katya Shepel, Logistics Director at Shakhtar, was given a guided tour of the Toughsheet by Chief Operations Officer, Phil Mason. 

Bolton Branch Chair of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, Yaroslaw Tymchyshyn said: 

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"Katya's position is more difficult than most people in her position as the club has not played at home since 2014. They are a nomad club playing in either Lviv, Western Ukraine, or European games in Poland.

Katya and Phil Mason (Image: Public)

"Many thanks to Phil Mason for giving up his time to show Katya the facilities of a wonderful stadium.

"Katya was suitably impressed, considering the Wanderers are in the third tier of the pyramid of English football. The Wanderers have another overseas supporter." 

This comes after the Bolton Ukrainian Cultural Centre held an appeal day earlier this year for donations of essentials to be taken to the war-torn country. 

They asked for items such as nappies, incontinence pads, disposable bed pads and flat pack boxes. 

The open day, which was held on March 14, came about after Yaroslaw spoke to car dealer Tim Marsden in Huddersfield, who said that those particular items were the most important. 

The day saw thousands of items donated.