The Religion Of Football
Anna Petrushko, Ukraine
My name is Anna Petrushko. I was born in Poltava and was living there until 2013. Poltava is a city in the centre of Ukraine with a population of 300,000. In 2013 I moved to Kyiv. When I lived in Poltava, I was one of the active fans of local football club FC Vorskla. I went to the stadium every weekend and made trips for the away games of my favourite football club. It was an interesting time because most people believe that football is about men and for men. I was eager to show that girls and women like the atmosphere at the stadium - and they are present at the matches not just for finding opportunities to meet with footballers for personal reasons.
Besides that, I was a part of WGLife (“White-Green Life), the fan group of FC Vorskla (Poltava), founded in 2008. We created the fan website (wglife.com.ua) and published several editions of a printed fan magazine WGLife, which covers fanatics and football life.
After I migrated to Kyiv, I was not able to attend all the Vorska matches so my fanaticism became sluggish. I started to attend other football clubs’ matches and pay more attention to groundhopping. Together with other active Ukrainian groundhoppers, I took part in the publishing of a magazine about Ukrainian groundhopping. In May 2020 we also published the handbook “Ukrainian Stadiums”. It is an exclusive book for Ukraine.
What did you try to show? Was there any wider meaning with the photos?
I tried to make photos in different geographical locations to show how diverse the atmosphere can be at the grounds. CSKA Stadium (Kyiv) is a part of an Armed Forces of Ukraine military base. Military builders built it in 1964. The arena hosted matches of the army football team. Nowadays the stadium is in an emergency condition. Several news stories about its reconstruction appeared in the media but the question about financing is still open. Meanwhile newly built skyscrapers devour the ageing sports ground. The teams of the bottom leagues are catching the last opportunity to play at the dying stadium.
At Chernomorets Stadium (Odessa), heavy smoke covered the football ground after local fans fired the pyro. With this photo, I wanted to show the mysterious mood of the stadium.
FC Vorskla (Poltava) fans were having a rest in a football match break. It was an away game for FC Vorskla with FC Desna (Chernihiv) at the Yuri Gagarin stadium in Chernihiv city. The away fans section is located in the old stand; most of which is not in a good condition for visitors.
Why is football so important for Ukraine and its people?
The football stadium is a place for gathering people. Some people come here to have a rest from the routine daily life, some to revive himself or herself, others to splash out negative emotions. Everybody is looking for something personally special. Football is a part of Ukrainian life. Football is the game number one in Ukraine. Football is a kind of cross-section of the community; it unites all segments of the society.
What is your favourite photo?
It is a mix of two religions – Orthodoxy and Football. There are many common things between them. Both of them have their own calendar; one for religious holidays and the other for football matches. The churches and the stadiums are most crowded on weekends. The church and the stadium are two parallel ways of life.
There isn't a direct connection between religion and football, but some football teams go to the church before the match day. They believe that God can help them to achieve a good result. Sometimes when the football team has a long streak of failures and if they don't know who can help them, they go to the church as the last place which could change the situation!
What are the opportunities for female footballers in Ukraine?
Unfortunately, women’s football is not popular in Ukraine even though we have a championship. Futsal is more popular, and we have several strong teams. I heard that UEFA wants every football club to have a female team. If their plans come true, I think it will be a huge impulse for developing the sport.
What does football mean to you?
Football for me, first of all, is new people and communication. It expands my intellectual horizons. Football stimulates travelling. I have travelled to more than 20 countries attending matches and always try to visit local stadiums.
What is the future for Ukrainian football?
Before and during 2012 football in Ukraine was at a good level. We had developed infrastructure and we helped to host the EUROS tournament. In 2013 the political crisis started (followed by an economic crisis). It caused the disappearance of numerous football clubs. This situation became more serious with the start of the war in the east of the country. Three football regions have suffered. Many clubs died, those who were stronger moved to safe regions. And generally it was not a good time for football in Ukraine. The level of the number one sport fell rapidly.
Year after year, football started to recover but many small football clubs were still on the verge of extinction. Now we are faced with a pandemic. It is unknown what condition football will be in after a disease. One thing that is clear is that the country will lose some clubs. The only question is how many there will be - 2, 7, 10, or more. Everything is cyclical so I truly believe that everything will be good, even if it takes years.
