Everton will welcome around 2,000 Ukrainians from across Merseyside to Friday’s final pre-season friendly against Dynamo Kyiv.
The club confirmed last week that they were liaising with councils across the Merseyside region to distribute free tickets to Ukrainian refugees for the upcoming 'Match for Peace'. And now ahead of the game, the club have revealed that their free ticket offer has been welcomed enthusiastically by refugees rehoused in the city region as a result of the conflict that rages on in their country.
One of the refugees set to attend the game with her family is Olesja Petriv, who has played a pivotal role in helping several Ukrainians, including her own family, seek safety and sanctuary in the UK.
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Olesja and her husband, Dmytro, sprang into action immediately after the Russian invasion, driving to mainland Europe to collect Dmytro’s sister Mariia and her children Sviatoslav, 10, and Sofiia, 8, who had hurriedly packed bags and fled the country. Both Sviatoslav and Sofiia will be mascots for Friday’s game – the first 'Match for Peace' ever played in the UK - in what is sure to be an emotional evening for the family.
“It’s going to be really cool, especially with the kids,” Olesja said ahead of the game. “They always talk about football and we tried to go to the World Cup play-off game Wales v Ukraine game recently, but couldn’t get tickets, so when we heard about this game at Everton we were so happy.
“I am so excited because this will be an evening when families can get together for an amazing cause. Some of the Ukrainian families who will be there are so lost; they have lost loved ones and lost their homes and I don’t know how you can go through all that.
“When you have a stable life, friends, schools, evenings spent with your family in the house you built, and then one day all that is taken away, you realise how amazing it is what the UK did.
“The people of Liverpool and across the country have opened their doors and let Ukrainians become a part of their family and history will never forget them.”
Before she added: “This war is just so close to us and has affected so many families. I still cry when I think about those first few days of the war and what it has all led to.
“Emotionally it’s been so hard because people were calling me and I heard kids screaming as they tried to run and hide from the planes and the bombs.
“Nobody believed this could happen and it shouldn’t be like this, but I don’t see helping those in need as a mission. It’s something from the heart and I will do whatever I can to support Ukrainian families, for as long as necessary.”
While Laura Stanley, Refugee Resettlement Coordinator with the Halton Supported Housing Team, added: “Olesja is an amazing woman and we’re proud to support her and others in need.
“I’ve worked with refugees in Halton for six years, initially with the Syrian resettlement scheme and now we’ve evolved into the Ukrainian resettlement scheme
“Our main involvement comes initially after arrival or when the sponsorship fails, often through nobody’s fault, and we’d normally help out with schools and GPs, but I’m finding that when I turn up at sponsors’ homes, all that has already been sorted by our amazing sponsors.
“It takes a special kind of person to take a stranger into your house, especially post-Covid when for a long time you weren’t even allowed to have folk in your house.
“For so many people here, having this scheme has brought so many benefits, such as new cultures, new foods and experiences. But it’s given Ukrainian families a safe haven and pulling people together is vital.
“Ukrainians in sponsorship placements can be spread far and wide, across the region, so events like the game at Goodison will be amazing because they can make those connections with each other’s families and take them forward, enabling wider community support.”
Tickets for Friday’s ‘Match for Peace’ are still available, priced at £15 for adults (18 to 64-year-olds) and £5 for concessions (under-18s and over-65s). Supporters also have the option to add a donation of £1, £5 or £10 at the point of purchase, with the money raised bolstering the total raised for charity through ticket sales and other matchday activities.
Tickets are still available for Everton's match against Dynamo Kyiv at Goodison Park on Friday and can be purchased here.
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