Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk soccer team vowed to represent the wartorn country to the best of their ability during the 2022-2023 UEFA Champions League season. The Ukrainian club and what it means to a country caught up in war are spotlighted in the new trailer for Paramount+’s four-part documentary series Football Must Go On.
“UEFA Champions League is the most prestigious annual soccer tournament in the world filled with incredible drama, but we’ve never seen a team become the biggest story because of ongoing war in its homeland,” stated coordinating producer Pete Radovich. “A heartfelt thank you to sporting director Darijo Srna, and every staff member, player, and coach at Shakhtar Donetsk for their incredible generosity and openness in allowing us to tell their story to the world.”
The docuseries, which is part of the Stories from the Beautiful Game soccer documentary collection, is directed by BAFTA winner Alex Gale (Scotland 78: A Love Story).
Football Must Go On kicks off on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.
Paramount+ released this description of the four-part docuseries:
Football Must Go On follows the emotional and physical journey of Ukraine soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk as they compete in the 2022-2023 UEFA Champions League season against the constant backdrop of their homeland being ravaged by war. The fly-on-the-wall documentary series gives viewers an in-depth look at the upheaval and challenges by the Ukraine champions that no team in modern-day sports has ever faced.
Granted unique access by the team, Paramount+ and CBS Sports go with Shakhtar as the players and coaches juggle the demands of playing in club football’s biggest tournament, while monitoring the horrors unfolding at home. Living in Ukraine and ultimately forced by war to decamp to Poland, Shakhtar must play at “home” against European giants Real Madrid, and others, in a Warsaw stadium that also houses refugees from their homeland.
Wherever they play, Shakhtar must focus on the game at hand with the fate of their loved ones and homeland always on their minds. Football Must Go On is a unique juxtaposition of sports glory, the agony of war and the triumph of the human spirit.
