“We have a new saying in Ukraine; ‘if you want to make somebody laugh, tell them about your plans for the future’”.

This harrowing (yet typically wry) insight from FC Kryvbas Director Artem Gagarin is indicative of a life lived under the sirens.

Glory Issue 8 is dedicated to Artem and the people of Ukraine, with all profits donated straight to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal.

To ensure the issue does justice to the country and its unique footballing history and culture, we have teamed up with the Ukrainian Football Association and independent content producers across Ukraine, Europe and the wider world.

We have our usual mix of interviews with people across the Ukrainian domestic and international game. Among many stories, we hear, in his own words, the story of Lluís Cortés who months after winning a domestic treble with FC Barcelona Femení and days after winning Ukrainian Women’s first international tournament, awoke in his Kyiv hotel room to air raid sirens and an urgent need to evacuate.

We also have stories of life and football in the country, both before and after Russia invaded back in February. We look back at the history of football in the country and as well the return of the Ukrainian Premier League, alongside stories of the return of matchday rituals and watching non-league football.

There are focus pieces on two of Ukraine’s biggest clubs in Shakhtar Donetsk and Dnipro, plus Obolon Kyiv, a brewery team from the capital. We also speak to the aforementioned Artem Gagarin – the former ultra and now Director of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown club FC Kryvbas.

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