The Ukrainian national men’s judo team is currently visiting Südstadt at the invitation of the Austrian Judo Association (ÖJV) and is preparing for the European Championships in Sofia for two weeks. “Last week we were asked if we could help. We immediately said yes. We provide accommodation, a training hall and food – that’s a matter of course these days,” emphasizes ÖJV President Martin Poiger.
What happens after that, no one dares to say. “Our exemption for competitions and training only applies until the beginning of May. We’ll have to wait and see,” admits national team coach Quedjau Nhabali. “Up until last week, I was still in the war zone in and around Kyiv myself. We helped old people. We also tried to get our families to safety.”
The Ukrainian handball players could also be helped out in Austria. Ukraine will play their European Championship qualifier against Croatia on April 20 at Raiffeisen Sportpark Graz. The ÖHB immediately responded to a corresponding request from the Ukrainian association. “It is a matter of course for us to help the Ukrainian women’s national team. Thanks in part to the support of the Styrian association, we were able to get this up and running so quickly,” explains ÖHB General Secretary Bernd Rabenseifner.
UEFA and FIFA allow mid-season registrations of Ukrainian footballers until the end of the month. However, the men’s and women’s Bundesliga clubs rejected the offer due to distortion of competition. For the Future League, the U-21 competition in the women’s Bundesliga, however, all club bosses gave their approval.
