More than 1,000 Ukrainian refugees and host families invited to Wembley for Euro 2024 qualifier
- Planet Sport writer
- 21 March 2023
The Football Association has invited more than 1,000 Ukrainian refugees and their host families across Great Britain to attend England’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley on Sunday.
The invitations have been made to people involved in the government's Homes for Ukraine Scheme which launched last year in response to Russia's invasion of the country.
There are at present around 117,000 Ukrainian refugees in the UK, many of them housed with people who volunteered to open up their homes to those fleeing the conflict.
There are expected to be 4,200 Ukraine supporters amongst the 85,000 sell-out crowd, in addition to those invited from the scheme.
Sports Minister Stuart Andrew said in a statement: "Over the past year the UK has stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Ukraine.
"Thousands of people have played their part by generously welcoming Ukrainians into their homes, and we continue to do all we can to support all those displaced because of (Vladimir) Putin's illegal war.
"This Euro 2024 qualifier will be a poignant and emotional occasion and I applaud the FA and the team at Wembley Stadium for their kind gesture."
The United Nations estimates there have been around 8.1million people from Ukraine displaced in Europe since Russia's invasion of the country in February last year, with around 3million people fleeing abroad in the first two weeks of the war.
More than 200,000 people in the UK registered interest in housing Ukrainian refugees in the first month of the government's scheme between March and April.
Sunday's game at Wembley will be England's second in their bid to reach next year's finals in Germany, with Gareth Southgate's side facing Italy in Milan on Thursday.
