LNZ Cherkasy, a Ukrainian club that was playing in the fourth tier in 2021, will make its European debut this week in a wartime success story with few modern parallels. On Thursday, they face Belgian side Gent in the second qualifying round of the Conference League, having earned the right by finishing runners-up in Ukraine's top flight last season.
Rapid Rise from Obscurity
LNZ only turned professional in 2020 and were in the fourth division as recently as 2021. Their remarkable ascent saw them top the league at the halfway point of the 2025-26 season, ultimately finishing behind Shakhtar Donetsk. The club's chief executive, Vasyl Kayuk, the youngest in Ukrainian top-flight history at 26, said: 'No one expected anything from us. The biggest motivation and advantage is that you are young and nobody believes in you.'
The club is owned by a locally based agribusiness from which it takes its name. 'The city never had anything similar to this,' Kayuk said. 'We always say that we are not sprinters, we are marathon runners. We want to build our club and become stable.'
Building for the Future
LNZ's manager, Vitaliy Ponomaryov, a 52-year-old former assistant referee, has created a flexible, high-functioning side. 'I don't think that, if we celebrate this success today, it will be of use to us tomorrow,' he said. 'I literally told the players today that we have to forget everything, set new goals, and continue to grow.'
Striker Mark Assinor, a Ghanaian signing in 2024, praised Ponomaryov's impact: 'It had been difficult the previous season but he has come in and given us a winning mentality. When we realised we had a chance of achieving something, everyone started to believe.'
War's Impact and Community Spirit
LNZ will host the first leg against Gent in the Polish city Plock, as Ukrainian sides must play European games abroad due to the war. The conflict touches every part of life at the club: one physio, Artur Pohorilyi, served as a war medic and survived a blast near Izyum in 2023. Club doctor Roman Mishchenko works at a hospital for injured soldiers and in Ukraine's amputee football system.
The academy, housed in a repurposed Soviet-era sanatorium, includes youngsters from illegally occupied parts of Ukraine, some with parents still there. Coach Alexei Bulgakov, who fled Mariupol after Russia's attack, said: 'We speak to each other, talk about sights and buildings in our cities, and expect that some day we will be able to return.'
Ambition for the Future
The training ground, new and impressive by Ukrainian standards, is only 35% complete, with plans for three more pitches, an indoor dome and a new stadium. Crowds at their ageing city-centre ground trebled last season to over 2,000. 'We want to make this city purple, our special colour,' Kayuk said. 'This club is for our people but we also want Ukrainians to associate themselves with us. We want to become a real power in our league.'
