Luhansk People's Republic national football team
The Luhansk People's Republic football team (or Lugansk)[1] is a team representing the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), a disputed Russian republic in eastern Ukraine.[lower-alpha 1] The team is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA and therefore cannot compete for the FIFA World Cup or the UEFA European Championship. Occasionally, the LPR team has been a member of CONIFA, although it currently is not as of November 2022.[2]
 | |||
| Association | Luhansk Football Union (Луганский футбольный союз) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Confederation | ConIFA | ||
| Head coach | Anatoliy Kuksov | ||
| Home stadium | Avanhard Stadium (Luhansk) | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Abkhazia 1–0 Luhansk PR  (Sukhumi; 29 May 2015) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
Luhansk PR 3–1 Donetsk PR  (Luhansk; 19 September 2015) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Donetsk PR 4–1 Luhansk PR (Donetsk; 14 May 2015) | |||
| CONIFA European Football Cup | |||
| Appearances | 0 | ||
History
The Luhansk Football Union was founded on October 4, 2014. FC Zorya Luhansk alumnus Anatoliy Kuksov coached the team prior to his death in January 2022. The LPR 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 LPR team politically — comparing them negatively with the Chagossians — but that "that was not the point" and they were allowed to compete.[3] CONIFA were criticised for supporting "Russia-backed separatism."[4][5] The LPR team was scheduled to take part in the 2019 CONIFA European Football Cup but later withdrew.[6][7]
International results
| 5 May 2015 Friendly | Abkhazia | 1–0 | Luhansk People's Republic | Republican Stadium, Sukhumi |
| 8 August 2015 Friendly | Donetsk People's Republic | 4–1 | Luhansk People's Republic | Metalurh Stadium, Donetsk |
| 9 July 2015 Friendly | Luhansk People's Republic | 3–1 | Donetsk People's Republic | Avanhard Stadium, Luhansk |
| 8 January 2016 Friendly | Donetsk People's Republic | 1–1 | Luhansk People's Republic | Metalurh Stadium, Yenakiieve |
| 8 December 2019 Friendly | Luhansk People's Republic | 4–3 |  South Ossetia | Avanhard Stadium, Luhansk |
| 9 August 2019 Friendly | South Ossetia | 2–0 | Luhansk People's Republic | Guram Tskhovrebov Stadium, Tskhinvali |
Win Draw Loss
Notes
- The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) was established by Russian-backed separatists in the Luhansk 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 LPR as a Russian republic, a claim that is unrecognised by Ukraine and by most of the international community.
References
- "Karabakh hosting most prestigious of unrecognised sporting events". 3 June 2019.
- "Sámi footballers go to disputed conflict area to play ball with Ukrainian separatists". The Independent Barents Observer.
- Hendicott, James (2019). CONIFA: Football for the Forgotten. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780244173630 – via Google Books.
- "CONIFA alternative World Cup boosts Russia-backed separatism". 27 June 2018.
- "CONIFA alternative World Cup boosts Russia-backed separatism". www.unian.info.
- "Conifa – a Place for the Misplaced | SportsNewsIRELAND". Archived from the original on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
- "Match schedule: CONIFA Sportsbet.io European Football Cup 2019".