On Saturday, 3 October, at 18:00 Kyiv time, Belgian club Mechelen will host Lviv FC Karpaty at the Achter de Kazerne stadium in a charity match. All funds raised during the match will be donated to the Lviv Centre for people who have survived captivity and torture, which is part of the UNBROKEN ecosystem and was established with the support of the Government of Flanders.
The Centre in Lviv brings together a multidisciplinary team of therapists, psychiatrists and social workers who help military personnel and civilians overcome the consequences of torture, undergo rehabilitation and return to everyday life. The charity match is a continuation of the cooperation between the partner cities of Lviv and Mechelen.
The idea for the game arose during a visit to Lviv by Mechelen legend Piet den Boer, who visited the Centre for people who have survived captivity and torture. He said that it was then he realised the depth of the physical and psychological trauma Ukrainians are living with, and he proposed holding a charity match as a way of supporting them.
More than 2,000 spectators are expected at the match. Before kick-off, the National Anthem of Ukraine will be performed at the stadium by opera singers Olena Ivanova, Oksana Yermolaieva and Iryna Khapko. After a minute of silence, the ceremonial first kick will be taken by Ukraine’s Ambassador to Belgium, Yaroslav Melnyk.
Mechelen head coach Frédéric Vanderbiest noted that for his team this is more than just a friendly: the players will take to the pitch alongside footballers who live every day in the realities of war, and they will do everything they can to ensure the match becomes a true sporting contest with maximum commitment.
For Lviv’s Karpaty, this will be their first match in a long time without the threat of air-raid sirens. Head coach Francisco Fernandez stressed that in Ukraine matches have to be interrupted, with players and fans alike going down to shelters, and the number of spectators depends on their capacity. In Belgium, by contrast, the Lviv side will be able to play a full 90 minutes with the backing of a packed stadium, and with a charitable purpose in support of people who have survived captivity and torture.
Tickets for the charity match cost 10 euros, with tickets for young people aged 12–18 priced at 5 euros, and children under 12 admitted free of charge. The match will also be broadcast live on Karpaty’s YouTube channel subject to a charitable donation in support of the Lviv Centre; at 17:00, a pre-match studio with analysts will begin.
On Monday, 5 October, immediately after the match, a humanitarian convoy of 11 vehicles will depart from Belgium for Lviv. It will deliver body armour, generators and more than 21,000 units of medical supplies. A Belgian delegation headed by Mechelen Mayor Bart Somers will travel to Lviv with the convoy. The mission will also include representatives of the city council and experts from the education, medical, legal and security sectors.
Lawyers from the Flemish Association of Lawyers will be part of the delegation. They plan to exchange experience with their Ukrainian colleagues and collect testimonies on war crimes. They highlight the symbolic importance of Lviv for the legal community, as the city is associated with the names of Raphael Lemkin and Hersch Lauterpacht, who laid the foundations for the concepts of genocide and crimes against humanity, and the Centre for people who have survived captivity and torture is located on Lemkin Street.
Belgian police officers and firefighters will also arrive in Lviv. They intend to deepen professional cooperation with their Ukrainian counterparts and share practical experience. Police representatives note that thanks to the trust built up during previous visits, humanitarian aid can be rapidly delivered to those who need it, while both sides learn from one another in wartime conditions.
Mechelen has been Lviv’s official twin city since 20 April 2024. Since then, the partnership has been developing actively: with the support of the Mayor of Mechelen, a decision has been taken to allocate 1.5 million euros for the construction in Lviv of a centre to support Ukrainians who have been tortured during the war. The charity match and humanitarian mission have become another step in strengthening this cooperation.