The Rise and Rise of Knyazha


I have to admit the rise of Knyazha Shaslive completly passed me by. In my defence they play in the second league, which usually has midweek fixtures and despite their name have moved to Boryspil, which is 40km from Kyiv. In fact I probably wouldn't have visited their game last week if the premier league hadn't finished early due to the Euros. Well, why would I? Both Arsenal and Dynamo play at stadiums within walking distance of my flat afterall.


It's also easy to be a bit cynical about Knyazha, they were formed in 2005 and formed in the village of Shaslive, which had been devoid of football since Obolon got their new ground, their second team moved to Boridyanka amd CSKA 2 became effectively CSKA. In their original press release there is no mention of the Knyazha Finance Group, who are part of a much bigger Austrian Company being involved, which is indeed suspicious. I initially assumed it was the vodka company of the same name, as this type of sponsorship is one way that alcohol companies get around advertising legislation. I also therefoe thought their victories would be short lived and the vodka boys would lose interest. Nevertheless Knyazha Insurance have put their money where their mouths are, again it is easy to be cynical, as they now play in Boryspil in the kolos stadium. The original team Borysfen, who only a couple of years ago were in the Vishe Liha went bankrupt in 2007, and Knyazha seem to be picking up their support. They have already been promoted to the first division.


It all still sound like The Man interfering in football and a nasty franchise, but they seem serious and the company is involved in a lot of charity work in the country. Nevertheless, what has really softened me towards them was that on Thursday they opened a domed stadium at Shaslive with an astro pitch and temperature control, so that it can be used all year round. There are also 500 seats in it. Not enough, you might say. However, it's not for the team it's for the school kids in the village. Fair play to them indeed.

The photo shows kids at the opening of the domed stadium in Shaslive on Thursday.

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