Germans to aid Ukraine with World Cup ambitions
German football club Borussia Monchengladbach will host the Ukrainian national team for a match which will serve as part of Ukraine’s preparations for their World Cup qualifying campaign, it has been announced.
The match will be held at Monchengladbach’s Borussia-Park home on May 11, and will be the first time the Ukrainian team has been in action since the outbreak of hostilities with Russia.
“In coordination with the Ukrainian FA, Borussia will donate all profits from the match to charitable causes for people in or from Ukraine,” a statement from the Bundesliga outfit read.
“We’re very happy to be able to help the Ukrainian FA through this game, and hope that as many football fans as possible from all over the country come to the stadium and make a donation to a good cause by buying a ticket to the match. All Ukrainian citizens will have free entry to the game,” added Borussia’s chief executive, Stephan Schippers.
Ukraine’s World Cup qualifying playoff semifinal against Scotland had been scheduled for Glasgow on March 24 but was postponed at the request of the Ukrainian FA.
UEFA confirmed earlier in April that the match will now take place on June 1 at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, with the winners progressing to a playoff final against Wales in Cardiff four days later.
A spot at the Qatar FIFA 2022 World Cup is at stake, and the nation which claims a place at the tournament will join a group alongside England, the USA and Iran.
Russia had been due to contest its own World Cup qualifying playoff semifinal against Poland in Moscow on March 24, before being banned by UEFA and FIFA.
Poland were handed a bye to the playoff final, where they defeated Sweden.
The Russian Football Union (RFU) has appealed its ban with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland. The court has thus far sided with FIFA and UEFA, although a final verdict is still pending.
Some figures have claimed Ukraine should be granted automatic passage to the Qatar World Cup because of the conflict with Russia, although national team coach Oleksandr Petrakov has dismissed that notion.
The Ukrainian team is planning a training camp from May 2 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, before being guests of Borussia in Monchengladbach on May 10-12, the German club said.
