Donetsk People's Republic national football team

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.

Donetsk People's Republic
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationFootball Union of the Donetsk People's Republic (Футбольный союз Донецкой Народной Республики)[citation needed]
ConfederationCONIFA (previously)
Head coachArsen Isakov[citation needed]
Home stadiumMetalurh 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
Appearances0
Websitewww.fsdnr.com (in Russian)

History

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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

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Fixtures and results

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  Win   Draw   Loss

14 May 2015 Friendly Abkhazia   1–0   Donetsk PR Sukhumi, Abkhazia
21 May 2016 Friendly Abkhazia   0–0   Donetsk PR Sukhumi, Abkhazia
31 August 2017 Friendly Donetsk PR   4–3   Donetsk PR U-21 Makiivka, Donetsk People's Republic
28 May 2017 Friendly Abkhazia   1–2   Donetsk PR Sukhumi, Abkhazia
13 February 2020 Friendly Kyzyltash Bakhchisaray   1–0   Donetsk PR Bakhchisaray, Crimea

See also

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Notes

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  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

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  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.
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