Introducing The Athletic's brand new podcast series; Away from Home.

We have been given rare inside access to leading Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk as they compete against the world's best teams despite being unable to play at home - in their own stadium - due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Over six episodes, we’ll bring you Shakhtar’s story of hope and horror, tales from Kyiv, Warsaw, Madrid and beyond on their Champions League odyssey as they cope with the impact of war.

Six episodes, available from November 7th.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, The Athletic’s Adam Crafton speaks to Taras Stepanenko, the captain of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, as he and his young family take refuge in an underground shelter when war breaks out in Ukraine.

Adam also meets with Shakhtar's Croatian head coach, Igor Jovicevic, who was separated from his family when Russia invaded.

Meanwhile, as the team prepares for their first match in Europe’s elite competition, the Champions League, we hear from Shakhtar midfielder Ivan Petryak, who lost a family member to the war with Russia. With all the odds against Shakhtar, can the Ukrainian club pull off a shock victory against the German club Red Bull Leipzig?

Credits

Presenter: Adam Crafton

Producers: Adam Crafton, Abi Paterson, Mike Stavrou

Sound mixing: Ollie Bellwood

Featuring footage from: The Daily, AP, ABC News, Sport BILD, DW News, Al Jazeera, and BT Sport

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take you inside the dressing room with Shakhtar Donetsk as they prepare for their next Champions League match against Celtic.

Whilst The Athletic’s Adam Crafton follows the team in Warsaw, his colleague Joey D'Urso is in Croatia. He meets with the children from the club’s academy who are kept safe and out of harm’s way, but pine for their friends and family back home in Ukraine.

We then return to Warsaw for match day - can the underdogs get another result? We start with an emotional team-talk from the club’s captain Taras Stepanenko…

Credits:

Presenters: Adam Crafton and Joey D'Urso

Producers: Adam Crafton, Joey D'Urso, Abi Paterson, and Mike Stavrou

Sound Mixing: Ollie Bellwood

Featuring footage from: CBS with dressing room footage & audio kindly supplied by Shakhtar Donetsk.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.