Euro 2012 Stadium In Ukraine Turned Into Refugee Shelter To Assist War Victims

Arena Lviv, which played host to Germany v Portugal and two other games at Euro 2012, also hosted a number of Shakhtar Donetsk home matches when the club was forced to leave the Donbass Arena

Ten years after being used as a host stadium for Euro 2012, Arena Lviv in Ukraine is being turned into a refugee shelter to help those fleeing war within the country’s borders.

The stadium played hosts to three games as Ukraine and Poland jointly hosted the tournament – Germany v Portugal, Portugal v Denmark and Germany v Denmark – before housing Shakhtar Donetsk between 2014 and 2016.

Shakhtar were forced to relocate for their home games back in 2014 after their then-stadium, the Donbas Arena, was damaged during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The 13-time Ukrainian champions now play their home games in Kyiv, though they were forced to evacuate players amid the Russian invasion, and the club has played its part in ensuring the stadium in Lviv serves a new purpose.

As reported by The Athletic, Shakhtar have been playing their part in ensuring the stadium – now shared by FC Lviv and Rukh Lviv, and 70 kilometres from the Polish border – is able to serve its new purpose as the number of Ukrainian refugees rises above two million.

n addition to the club helping provide shelter as the conflict continues, there has been support from clubs outside Ukraine, with Benfica and Legia Warsaw among those said to have sent supplies.

The latest developments come as the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) describes the situation as “Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II”.

“We are trying to be helpful here and organise a shelter in Lviv, which has this big stadium, which was used in Euro 2012,” Shakhtar Donetsk communications director Yuri Sviridov said.

“We played games here previously in the Champions League. In partnership with the local authorities, we have arranged for this to be a shelter for 2-3000 people. If other clubs want to be involved or send things, it would be items such as blankets, mattresses, beds, pillows, they would be very useful.

“Benfica are sending five trucks of everything; food, medicine and clothes. Our employees are volunteering at the stadium.

“Legia Warsaw in Poland have also suggested to have their own stadium act as a hub where aid can be collected from other clubs sending it over, before it is then transported to Lviv.”

Shakhtar director of football, who was a player with the club during the 2014 conflict, spoke to The Guardian about the 2022 evacuation.

“The club proposed two buses for everyone but there was nobody who could say to you: ‘Yes, everything will be OK on the road’,” the former Croatia international said,

“On the second day the embassies were all saying they couldn’t help, it wasn’t secure, we had to stay in the hotel.

“That’s when you almost start to panic: in those first couple of days there was so much news around, some of it fake, and you start to receive a lot of phone calls from friends and families saying: ‘Get out, get out.’ You’re under pressure and it’s not easy to be composed at that moment.”