LNZ Cherkasy will make their European debut this week, facing Belgian side Gent in the second qualifying round of the Conference League. The Ukrainian club will host the first leg in Plock, Poland, forced to play abroad due to the ongoing war at home.
The fixture represents a remarkable transformation for a club that was competing in Ukraine’s fourth tier as recently as 2021. LNZ Cherkasy turned professional only the year before that, yet last season they finished as runners-up in the Ukrainian Premier League behind Shakhtar Donetsk.
Striker Mark Assinor embodies the club’s newfound confidence. During a recent set-piece training session, players joked “Arsenal!” as they grappled in the box, a nod to the elite level they now aspire to reach. “We are making history,” Assinor said afterwards. “But there’s been a change in mentality here and I think this is only a starting point for the club.”
From Obscurity to Contention
The club’s ascent has been swift and unexpected. After finishing 12th in their second top-flight campaign, they exceeded every projection last term. A 4-1 victory away to Shakhtar Donetsk in October demonstrated their potential, and they topped the table at the halfway stage before ultimately settling for second place.
“No one expected anything from us,” said chief executive Vasyl Kayuk, who at 26 is the youngest CEO in Ukrainian top-flight history. “The biggest motivation and advantage is that you are young and nobody believes in you.”
The club is owned by a local agribusiness from which it takes its name. Kayuk emphasised their long-term approach, noting that the city had never experienced a similar project. “We always say that we are not sprinters, we are marathon runners,” he said. “We want to build our club and become stable.”
Wartime Realities
Despite their growth, the conflict shapes daily life at the club. Ukrainian teams must still stage European matches outside the country, hence the relocation to Plock. The club’s medical staff carry direct experience of the war: one physio survived a blast near Izyum in 2023 while working as a war medic, and the team doctor splits his time between the club and a hospital for injured soldiers in Cherkasy.
The club operates from a modern training facility, while their academy is housed in a repurposed Soviet-era sanatorium several miles away along the Dnipro river.
Grounded Ambition
Manager Vitaliy Ponomaryov, who joined last year from Rukh Lviv, urges caution despite the success. “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.”
Assinor, a Ghanaian forward discovered after spells in Poland and Slovakia, credits the 52-year-old with instilling a winning culture. “It had been difficult the previous season but he has come in and given us a winning mentality,” he said. “When we realised we had a chance of achieving something, everyone started to believe.”