Football is a tool for peace and an instrument to stop wars, as history shows: from Pelé in Nigeria to the Brazilian National Team in the Peace Game in Haiti; from the Christmas truce promoted by England and Germany during the First World War to the star Didier Drogba’s speech that stopped the Civil War in Côte d’Ivoire for years.
In Brazil, April 2023 will also go down in history: Associação Atlética Batel, a football club from Guarapuava, a municipality in Paraná State, will “become” FC Mariupol, a club from Ukraine that stopped its activities a year ago, when the city of Mariupol was bombed and invaded by Russia.
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As a gesture of solidarity to keep FC Mariupol alive – which ceased to exist and has an uncertain return after losing infrastructure, the stadium and dismissing employees and players –, Batel will adopt the name, uniform, crest and flag of FC Mariupol.
Last Saturday (22), a virtual press conference with the participation of FC Mariupol vice-president, Andriy Sanin, and Batel president, Alex Lopes, made this historic partnership official. With the union between Ukraine and Brazil, reconstruction is born.
In Prudentópolis, the region where Batel is located, 75% of the approximately 52,000 inhabitants are descendants of Ukrainian immigrants, according to a federal survey – it is therefore considered the largest Ukrainian community in Latin America. With the conflict in Europe, some cities of the Paraná State received many Ukrainian refugees, who today adopt the south of Brazil as their new home.
“Our club and our region have a lot of identification and affection for the Ukrainian people. The idea is to help keep FC Mariupol alive, which was the pride and great passion of the city, until they can really return to their activities,” says Alex Lopes, president of Batel, a club that is also known by the nickname lone wolf. “Our message to the world is one of peace and support for the struggle for Ukrainian sovereignty. Football was a source of great joy there and, certainly, in the future the club will shine again in the place it deserves”, he adds.
Historically, Ukraine has always opened its doors and supported the great talents of Brazilian football. This time, Brazil will reciprocate by helping to keep the tradition and passion of the city of Mariupol alive, which touched FC Mariupol VP Andriy Sanin.
“We are very touched and grateful for this welcome from Batel,” says Andriy Sanin, vice-president of FC Mariupol. “The war has been devastating for our city. Our schools, theaters and sports teams were all destroyed or displaced in the conflict. But to have this team in the country of football, on the other side of the world, agreeing to keep our name alive during this dark period in our history leaves us speechless. It is impossible to express how much this means to us.”
The team is the symbol of resilience and resistance of the identity of the Ukrainian people and nation. Friendlies and official matches of Batel with the new identity will be broadcast to Ukraine.
ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA
For this new moment, the @FCMARIUPOLLIVES profile was launched, with the aim of giving the Ukrainian club a fresh start, recovering all digital material from its history and creating new moments for the feed. In the bio of the Instagram profile, there will be the website address so that more people can know the action and history of FC Mariupol.
Check it out at:
- Instagram: @FCMARIUPOLLIVES
- Website: fcmariupollives.com
- Use the Hashtag: #FCMARIUPOLLIVES
