It is important to believe in Ukraine
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
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FC Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov gave an interview after meeting with UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin
– Mr Akhmetov, over the past five years, this is already your second visit to Nyon to meet with the UEFA president. How important is this for you, and what does it mean for Shakhtar?
– First of all, it is a great pleasure to be here. I’m here at the invitation of the UEFA president, and I would like to thank him very much for that. Aleksander and I had not seen each other for five years, and I have the warmest and fondest memories of that meeting. Back then, neither of us could have imagined that three months later Russia would launch a full-scale, aggressive, unjust and brutal war against Ukraine. Against its peaceful neighbours. I’m here not only to receive an award, although I will not hide the fact that it is a great honour, as it represents an enormous amount of work by our entire football family: all generations of players, coaches, club staff and, of course, our supporters. I’m also here to express my immense gratitude to the UEFA president for always standing on the side of good, always standing on the side of justice. And Darijo told me that on February 24, 2022, he was always calling, always staying in touch and asking: “What can I do to help Ukraine? What can I do to help Ukrainians, footballers and coaches?” I have already expressed my enormous gratitude to the UEFA president for that. I told him that, for me and for Shakhtar, the war began in 2014. We lost our city, our home, the Donbas Arena and the opportunity to play in front of our fans – our fans at our home stadium. And in 2022, an unjust and brutal war entered every Ukrainian home, every Ukrainian family. And despite all the difficulties and hardships, despite the terrible toll of this war, I think we have much to be proud of. The Ukrainian army has shown and proved to the whole world that it is one of the strongest armies in the world. The Ukrainian people have shown their spirit, their perseverance and their determination, and continue to fight for their freedom, independence and sovereignty. This deserves enormous respect and admiration. I’m convinced that Ukraine will stand firm, that we will achieve a just and lasting peace, that we will become members of the European Union and, I believe, that we will play football and watch Champions League matches under a peaceful Ukrainian sky, while Ukraine will be a free, European, democratic and prosperous country. That is why I’m here.
– Aleksander Čeferin said that he is amazed by the Ukrainian people. And it is becoming something of a tradition to meet here once every five years. What do you think – perhaps we will meet here again in exactly five years?
– Five years ago, we met, and three months later, none of us expected a full-scale war to begin. And I have already said to Aleksander that perhaps now no one expects that in three months the full-scale war will be over, that we will achieve a just and lasting peace and live in a peaceful, free, European Ukraine.
– This season, Shakhtar return to the Champions League, Europe’s biggest club competition. The team will play their first match in Eindhoven. What are your expectations for the tournament and what objectives have you set for the team?
– I’m nervous. As always, I’m nervous. I’m nervous before every match. What are the objectives? The objectives are simple. We have a very strong team, a young team. We have a group of exciting young footballers with a huge, huge future ahead of them – I have no doubt about that. I think we will see the true strength of our team. I believe that we will find our form throughout the tournament and get better and better with every game. I think the players will try to bring joy to the supporters with their exciting attacking football.
– How do you assess the draw and how satisfied are you with the opponents Shakhtar have been drawn against?
– How do you feel about getting Real Madrid? Are you happy with it or not? Inter... Well, I think these are very strong teams. All the teams deserve enormous respect. We will approach every team with great respect, and I think we will be ready. We will be ready to face strong teams, and as for the outcome of the draw, I’ll tell you afterwards. We’ll play eight matches, and then I’ll tell you whether the draw was good or not.
– This season, Shakhtar will play their Champions League home matches in London, at the legendary Stamford Bridge. Why was London chosen? Is it primarily about the prestige and the opportunity to play at one of Europe’s most iconic stadiums or is it part of Shakhtar’s global promotion strategy in a situation where the club still cannot play its home matches at home?
– These decisions were not made by me. They were made by the club’s management, and I think they made a good decision. But if we lose or fail to progress, I can tell you that we already know who will be to blame. (Laughs.)
– Do you plan to attend Shakhtar’s Champions League matches?
– We will see.
– We’ll be waiting for you.
– Thank you, thank you.
– This season, Shakhtar’s shirts will carry the Invest in Ukraine message alongside the logo of the club’s title partner SCM. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, SCM businesses have invested around USD 4 billion in Ukraine.
– USD 4.3 billion as of this moment.
– Why is it so important to you not only to talk about supporting Ukraine, but also to continue investing in the country while calling on international businesses to do the same?
– Because when we say that we support Ukraine, that is good in words, but when you invest, it is no longer just words – it is action. That is why SCM businesses have invested USD 4.3 billion since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and will continue to do so. It is very important that all global financial institutions and companies believe in Ukraine. We need to start rebuilding it today. Investment is needed today – the more investment, the better for Ukraine and Ukrainians.
– Darijo Srna said in a recent interview with Dmytro Gordon that Ukrainian football needs reform and stressed that the number of teams should be reduced. Do you agree with him and what reforms does Ukrainian football need now?
– I agree with Darijo here because I watched the interview – it was a great interview. I think many people watched it and really enjoyed it, I myself started remembering what it was like when Darijo first arrived, when he was still a young footballer. These are all very moving moments for me because if I have been at the club for 30 years, Darijo has been here for 23 years. It was a great interview, and I think the fact that Darijo talks about this shows that he cares about Ukrainian football. He is not saying that the number of teams needs to be reduced; he is saying that Ukrainian football needs to be reformed. What does reform mean? If yesterday we were among the 10 best footballing nations in the world – in other words, Ukrainian football was in the top 10 – and today we are in the top 30, we need to take a look at what is happening. If someone can see without glasses, take off your glasses and look. If someone cannot see, then get a pair of binoculars. So, something is clearly going wrong; something is not right with Ukrainian football. Ukrainian football needs to return to the top 10. The fact that Darijo talks about this deserves enormous respect because he has a Ukrainian heart and he cares about Ukrainian football.
What does it mean to reform? All clubs must operate under equal conditions, and all must meet the best minimum standards. In other words, they must go through licensing, and ultimately there must be a minimum budget and competition. Competition creates quality. Maybe there will be not 16 clubs but 18, maybe not 18 but 20 – that is excellent, and it means Ukrainian football is moving in the right direction. But if someone turns a blind eye to this, that is not good. Maybe there need to be fewer than 16. That is not a question for Darijo or FC Shakhtar. Other bodies need to look at this and answer the question: how many clubs today meet the best minimum standards to ensure fair competition and a level playing field for everyone? Why? Because we want to give our supporters the best possible Ukrainian football product. We want our supporters to watch and enjoy it, to have the excitement of not knowing until the very last second who will win and who will lose – that is what competition is all about. Ultimately, we will rise from 24th place and make it into the top 10. So, competition creates quality – that is what I think Darijo was talking about, and it deserves respect.
– And one final question. You know how people often say: the team win, but the manager loses…
– And I lose, right?
– The manager loses. Where does the president fit into that equation?
– I think you should take the manager out and put me in his place. We do things differently here. If we lose, everyone is to blame except me, and if we win, I’m the hero. I’m joking. It’s simple for us, and I have always said that if we lose, we start with me, and if we win, it is down to everyone and, first and foremost, the fans. So, a huge thank you to the players, coaches, masseurs, the entire football family and to you.
– First of all, it is a great pleasure to be here. I’m here at the invitation of the UEFA president, and I would like to thank him very much for that. Aleksander and I had not seen each other for five years, and I have the warmest and fondest memories of that meeting. Back then, neither of us could have imagined that three months later Russia would launch a full-scale, aggressive, unjust and brutal war against Ukraine. Against its peaceful neighbours. I’m here not only to receive an award, although I will not hide the fact that it is a great honour, as it represents an enormous amount of work by our entire football family: all generations of players, coaches, club staff and, of course, our supporters. I’m also here to express my immense gratitude to the UEFA president for always standing on the side of good, always standing on the side of justice. And Darijo told me that on February 24, 2022, he was always calling, always staying in touch and asking: “What can I do to help Ukraine? What can I do to help Ukrainians, footballers and coaches?” I have already expressed my enormous gratitude to the UEFA president for that. I told him that, for me and for Shakhtar, the war began in 2014. We lost our city, our home, the Donbas Arena and the opportunity to play in front of our fans – our fans at our home stadium. And in 2022, an unjust and brutal war entered every Ukrainian home, every Ukrainian family. And despite all the difficulties and hardships, despite the terrible toll of this war, I think we have much to be proud of. The Ukrainian army has shown and proved to the whole world that it is one of the strongest armies in the world. The Ukrainian people have shown their spirit, their perseverance and their determination, and continue to fight for their freedom, independence and sovereignty. This deserves enormous respect and admiration. I’m convinced that Ukraine will stand firm, that we will achieve a just and lasting peace, that we will become members of the European Union and, I believe, that we will play football and watch Champions League matches under a peaceful Ukrainian sky, while Ukraine will be a free, European, democratic and prosperous country. That is why I’m here.
– Aleksander Čeferin said that he is amazed by the Ukrainian people. And it is becoming something of a tradition to meet here once every five years. What do you think – perhaps we will meet here again in exactly five years?
– Five years ago, we met, and three months later, none of us expected a full-scale war to begin. And I have already said to Aleksander that perhaps now no one expects that in three months the full-scale war will be over, that we will achieve a just and lasting peace and live in a peaceful, free, European Ukraine.
– This season, Shakhtar return to the Champions League, Europe’s biggest club competition. The team will play their first match in Eindhoven. What are your expectations for the tournament and what objectives have you set for the team?
– I’m nervous. As always, I’m nervous. I’m nervous before every match. What are the objectives? The objectives are simple. We have a very strong team, a young team. We have a group of exciting young footballers with a huge, huge future ahead of them – I have no doubt about that. I think we will see the true strength of our team. I believe that we will find our form throughout the tournament and get better and better with every game. I think the players will try to bring joy to the supporters with their exciting attacking football.
– How do you assess the draw and how satisfied are you with the opponents Shakhtar have been drawn against?
– How do you feel about getting Real Madrid? Are you happy with it or not? Inter... Well, I think these are very strong teams. All the teams deserve enormous respect. We will approach every team with great respect, and I think we will be ready. We will be ready to face strong teams, and as for the outcome of the draw, I’ll tell you afterwards. We’ll play eight matches, and then I’ll tell you whether the draw was good or not.
– This season, Shakhtar will play their Champions League home matches in London, at the legendary Stamford Bridge. Why was London chosen? Is it primarily about the prestige and the opportunity to play at one of Europe’s most iconic stadiums or is it part of Shakhtar’s global promotion strategy in a situation where the club still cannot play its home matches at home?
– These decisions were not made by me. They were made by the club’s management, and I think they made a good decision. But if we lose or fail to progress, I can tell you that we already know who will be to blame. (Laughs.)
– Do you plan to attend Shakhtar’s Champions League matches?
– We will see.
– We’ll be waiting for you.
– Thank you, thank you.
– This season, Shakhtar’s shirts will carry the Invest in Ukraine message alongside the logo of the club’s title partner SCM. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, SCM businesses have invested around USD 4 billion in Ukraine.
– USD 4.3 billion as of this moment.
– Why is it so important to you not only to talk about supporting Ukraine, but also to continue investing in the country while calling on international businesses to do the same?
– Because when we say that we support Ukraine, that is good in words, but when you invest, it is no longer just words – it is action. That is why SCM businesses have invested USD 4.3 billion since the beginning of the full-scale invasion and will continue to do so. It is very important that all global financial institutions and companies believe in Ukraine. We need to start rebuilding it today. Investment is needed today – the more investment, the better for Ukraine and Ukrainians.
– Darijo Srna said in a recent interview with Dmytro Gordon that Ukrainian football needs reform and stressed that the number of teams should be reduced. Do you agree with him and what reforms does Ukrainian football need now?
– I agree with Darijo here because I watched the interview – it was a great interview. I think many people watched it and really enjoyed it, I myself started remembering what it was like when Darijo first arrived, when he was still a young footballer. These are all very moving moments for me because if I have been at the club for 30 years, Darijo has been here for 23 years. It was a great interview, and I think the fact that Darijo talks about this shows that he cares about Ukrainian football. He is not saying that the number of teams needs to be reduced; he is saying that Ukrainian football needs to be reformed. What does reform mean? If yesterday we were among the 10 best footballing nations in the world – in other words, Ukrainian football was in the top 10 – and today we are in the top 30, we need to take a look at what is happening. If someone can see without glasses, take off your glasses and look. If someone cannot see, then get a pair of binoculars. So, something is clearly going wrong; something is not right with Ukrainian football. Ukrainian football needs to return to the top 10. The fact that Darijo talks about this deserves enormous respect because he has a Ukrainian heart and he cares about Ukrainian football.
What does it mean to reform? All clubs must operate under equal conditions, and all must meet the best minimum standards. In other words, they must go through licensing, and ultimately there must be a minimum budget and competition. Competition creates quality. Maybe there will be not 16 clubs but 18, maybe not 18 but 20 – that is excellent, and it means Ukrainian football is moving in the right direction. But if someone turns a blind eye to this, that is not good. Maybe there need to be fewer than 16. That is not a question for Darijo or FC Shakhtar. Other bodies need to look at this and answer the question: how many clubs today meet the best minimum standards to ensure fair competition and a level playing field for everyone? Why? Because we want to give our supporters the best possible Ukrainian football product. We want our supporters to watch and enjoy it, to have the excitement of not knowing until the very last second who will win and who will lose – that is what competition is all about. Ultimately, we will rise from 24th place and make it into the top 10. So, competition creates quality – that is what I think Darijo was talking about, and it deserves respect.
– And one final question. You know how people often say: the team win, but the manager loses…
– And I lose, right?
– The manager loses. Where does the president fit into that equation?
– I think you should take the manager out and put me in his place. We do things differently here. If we lose, everyone is to blame except me, and if we win, I’m the hero. I’m joking. It’s simple for us, and I have always said that if we lose, we start with me, and if we win, it is down to everyone and, first and foremost, the fans. So, a huge thank you to the players, coaches, masseurs, the entire football family and to you.