UEFA award: Rinat Akhmetov met with Aleksander Čeferin
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
|
Shakhtar president received an award marking 30 years in the role and the club’s 90th anniversary
On September 8, FC Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov met with UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The head of European football congratulated Rinat Akhmetov on two important milestones – 30 years as president and FC Shakhtar’s 90th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Aleksander Čeferin presented Rinat Akhmetov with a commemorative UEFA award in recognition of his significant contribution to the development of football. Shakhtar CEO Serhii Palkin and the club’s sporting director Darijo Srna also attended the meeting.
Rinat Akhmetov, FC Shakhtar president:
– 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.
Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA president:
– I don’t think there is another president in Europe who is so devoted to his club, who shows so much love for football and for his club. And it is truly moving to see how he manages to make an absolutely abnormal situation seem normal for Shakhtar’s players. And, with all due respect to everyone else, I don’t think this club would still exist without Rinat Akhmetov.
Rinat Akhmetov, FC Shakhtar president:
– 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.
Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA president:
– I don’t think there is another president in Europe who is so devoted to his club, who shows so much love for football and for his club. And it is truly moving to see how he manages to make an absolutely abnormal situation seem normal for Shakhtar’s players. And, with all due respect to everyone else, I don’t think this club would still exist without Rinat Akhmetov.