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![\"Olena](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/(x324-y1322-w2958-h2958)-03a7a427c8c09066a78e1ff0da88a8dd.jpg\" "\\"Olena")
<\/p>\n\u201cAnd now, guys, let\u2019s do this exercise on the other leg,\u201d said the head coach. A second later, dozens of men on the football pitch started laughing. Meet \u201cNezlamni\u201d\u2014Kharkiv\u2019s first club to play amputee football. Almost all the players are veterans who lost their limbs on the battlefield.<\/p>\n
Aug 05, 2025 13:08<\/p>\n
Updated Aug 05, 2025 13:17<\/p>\n
\n 5 min read\n<\/p>\n
Authors
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The first rule that we were told as soon as we got there\u2014don\u2019t talk to the players while they are training, so as not to distract them. This meant waiting on the sidelines for two hours while the team busied itself with only one thing\u2014sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Training on crutches<\/p>\n
The players left their prostheses on the edge of the field and got ready for a warm-up, doing a complex set of exercises. It\u2019s not easy, but everyone is trying their best. Amputee football is different from the regular game, explains Volodymyr Liakh, director of the \u201cNezlamni\u00a0\u201d football club.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the guys play on crutches, the strain on varying muscle groups is completely different,\u201d he says. \u201cThey have to adapt. Here, mostly one leg is working, while the arms are used much more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Volodymyr, also a veteran, recalled that while the team was founded in March 2025, the idea had emerged six months earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt that time, five teams had been formed in Ukraine,\u201d he explains. \u201cI\u2019m a veteran myself and play football with my brothers-in-arms. During awards presentations, our combat veterans always receive honors for defending the Homeland.\u201d At one of those ceremonies, Volodymyr met a veteran, Oleksandr Tebenkov, who later became the coach of FC \u201cNezlamni.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw him walking onto the field on two prostheses, that was the moment I realized it was time\u2014because my fellow soldiers are returning,\u201d says Volodymyr. \u201cThey are coming back with injuries, but they\u2019re also passionate about football. We need to create a team so that they, just like us, can train together and take part in tournaments.\u201d<\/p>\n Since \u201cNezlamni\u2019s\u201d first training sessions began on March 23, the team has taken part in two championships. \u201cWe\u2019ve already been to the Spring Cup in Kyiv, and the Summer one too. We brought silver home twice. Everyone\u2019s happy. We\u2019re all looking forward to the next games, and we are training hard,\u201d says Oleksandr, one of the players. \u201cAlthough I dreamt about football my whole childhood, I can laugh at the fact that now, at my older age, I found myself at a championship where Andrii Shevchenko is giving me his autograph.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The 51-year-old veteran was an artist before the full-scale invasion and later joined the Territorial Defense Forces\u00a0 in Kharkiv.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe 127th Brigade, 227th Battalion,\u201d says Oleksandr. \u201cWe took part in the liberation of Staryi Saltiv, Starytsia, Bakhmut; worked in the Sumy region.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Then\u2014he and his comrades were sent to the Zaporizhzhia direction.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was there, near Rivnopillia, that I stepped on a mine.\u201d It was December 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n Less than two years later, Oleksandr finds himself talking to UNITED24 Media after training is finished. He recalled that in the very beginning, he was sceptical about the sport. \u201cBut when I got to the stadium, I immediately started running around the field with the guys, and now I try to never miss a practice session.\u201d<\/p>\n A safe place to laugh again<\/p>\n Volodymyr explains\u2014everyone on this field understands why they want to play.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe play for ourselves, we play for the guys who are coming back so they can see that sport exists today,\u201d he says. \u201cThey don\u2019t need to shut themselves off or stay at home, but they should come out onto the field with their brothers-in-arms. Here, they can talk about the events that happened to them, things they can\u2019t share with civilians. Once they are in the team, they open up.\u201d<\/p>\n The team is open not only to war veterans. \u201cBoth civilians and soldiers can take part in the amputee football team,\u201d says Volodymyr. \u201cMen and women can join, regardless of age.\u201d The youngest player\u2014Artur\u2014is 16. He lost his leg after a Russian attack on a schoolyard in Kharkiv. The oldest player is 58.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cInitially, when civilians come to the first couple of training sessions, they feel uncomfortable,\u201d says Volodymyr. \u201cBut by the third session, they know where they are, they can joke around with the guys, and become part of the team. The atmosphere is just amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\u201cNezlamni\u201d](\"https:\/\/storage.united24media.com\/thumbs\/x\/0\/8c\/969eb353dc59328fa9778e3ca1b508c0.png\" "\\"\u201cNezlamni\u201d")
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\n \u201cNezlamni\u201d is Kharkiv\u2019s first club to play amputee football. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)\u00a0
\n ![\"Every](\"https:\/\/storage.united24media.com\/thumbs\/x\/f\/ae\/e20fd25867ad250be96f6fdad97e4aef.png\" "\\"Every")
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\n Every training session starts with a warm-up\u2014to prepare for the game. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n Volodymyr Liakh, a war veteran, is the director of the \u201cNezlamni\u201d football club. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n Oleksandr Tebenkov is the coach of the \u201cNezlamni\u201d football club. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)\u00a0
\n After the minefield came the football field<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n 51 year-old Oleksandr was an artist before the full-scale invasion, he later joined the Territorial Defense Forces. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n Oleksandr, who now plays at the \u201cNezlamni\u201d football club, stepped on a mine in the Zaporizhzhia direction. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n The team is not only for war veterans, civilians also can join. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)
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\n The youngest player of the team is 16, the oldest\u201458. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)
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\n \u201cNezlamni\u2019s\u201d players have two training sessions per week. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)
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\n \u201cNezlamni\u201d is Kharkiv\u2019s first club to play amputee football. (Photo: UNITED24 Media)\u00a0<\/p>\n