Donetsk People's Republic national football team

Donetsk People's Republic

Association	Football Union of the Donetsk People's Republic (Футбольный союз Донецкой Народной Республики) [ citation needed ]
Confederation	CONIFA (previously)
Head coach	Arsen Isakov [ citation needed ]
Home stadium	Metalurh Stadium (Donetsk) [ citation needed ]
First colours Second colours
First international
Abkhazia 1–0 Donetsk PR   (Sukhumi; 14 May 2015)
Biggest win
Donetsk PR 4–1 Luhansk PR   (Donetsk; 8 August 2015) [ citation needed ]
Biggest defeat
Luhansk PR 3–1 Donetsk PR   (Luhansk; 19 September 2015) [ citation needed ]
CONIFA European Football Cup
Appearances	0
Website	www.fsdnr.com (in Russian)

The Donetsk People's Republic football team was a team representing the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a disputed Russian republic in eastern Ukraine. ^[a] The team was not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship. Occasionally, the DPR team has been a member of CONIFA, although it currently was not as of November 2022.

History

Territories in Ukraine occupied by the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic from 2015 until the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The team was founded on 25 July 2015, playing Abkhazia in their first game. ^[1] The DPR team took part in the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup qualification but failed to make it through to the finals. Sascha Düerkop, general secretary of CONIFA, stated that he did not agree with the DPR team politically — comparing them negatively with the Chagossians — but that "that was not the point" and they were allowed to compete. ^[2] CONIFA were criticized for supporting "Russia-backed separatism." ^[3] The DPR team was scheduled to take part in the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup but later withdrew. ^{[4] [5]}

Notable players

• Artem Bessalov

Fixtures and results

  Win  Draw  Loss

Abkhazia   v   Donetsk PR

14 May 2015 Friendly

Abkhazia

1–0

Donetsk PR

Sukhumi, Abkhazia

Donetsk PR   v   Luhansk PR

8 August 2015 Friendly

Donetsk PR

4–1

Luhansk PR

Donetsk, Donetsk People's Republic

Luhansk PR   v   Donetsk PR

19 Sept. 2015 Friendly

Luhansk PR

3–1

Donetsk PR

Luhansk, Luhansk People's Republic

Abkhazia   v   Donetsk PR

21 May 2016 Friendly

Abkhazia

0–0

Donetsk PR

Sukhumi, Abkhazia

Donetsk PR   v   Luhansk PR

13 August 2016 Friendly

Donetsk PR

1–1

Luhansk PR

Donetsk, Donetsk People's Republic

Donetsk PR   v Donetsk PR U-21

31 August 2017 Friendly

Donetsk PR

4–3

Donetsk PR U-21

Makiivka, Donetsk People's Republic

Abkhazia   v   Donetsk PR

28 May 2017 Friendly

Abkhazia

1–2

Donetsk PR

Sukhumi, Abkhazia

Kyzyltash Bakhchisaray v   Donetsk PR

13 February 2020 Friendly

Kyzyltash Bakhchisaray

1–0

Donetsk PR

Bakhchisaray, Crimea

See also

• Luhansk People's Republic national football team

Notes

1. The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) was established by Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine in 2014, during the war in Donbas. The disputed entity was annexed by Russia in 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Russia regards the DPR as a Russian republic, a claim that is unrecognised by Ukraine and by most of the international community.

References

1. Balmforth, Tom (4 June 2016). "Bigger Than Dominoes: Abkhazia Pins Hopes On Soccer Cup For Outsiders". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
2. Hendicott, James (2019). CONIFA: Football for the Forgotten. Lulu.com. ISBN   9780244173630 – via Google Books.
3. "CONIFA alternative World Cup boosts Russia-backed separatism". www.unian.info.
4. "Conifa – a Place for the Misplaced | SportsNewsIRELAND". Archived from the original on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
5. "Match schedule: CONIFA Sportsbet.io European Football Cup 2019". Archived from the original on 2019-05-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25.

External links

• Official website ^{[ dead link ‍]}(in Russian)
• Official Donetsk Football Federation Official Facebook Page (in Russian)
• Abkhazia v. Donetsk PR, 2015 on YouTube