Merthyr Town Football Club has released its new Joma 2022/23 away kit in the colours of Shakhtar Donetsk. The striking orange shirt is to celebrate the town’s links with the city of Donetsk and the hope for peace in Ukraine.
A statement on the Merthyr Town FC website read: “John
Hughes from Merthyr Tydfil travelled to Russia, in 1870 to build an ironworks
for the imperial Russian government, and within two years he had started the
production of iron in the new town of Hughesovka, which took his name from the
founder.”
Hughes was accompanied to the region by over a hundred
ironworkers and miners from the South Wales Valleys. In fact, Welsh migrants
continued to travel to Hughesovka into the early 20th century until the
Bolshevik revolution in 1917.
“The town of Hughesovka is now the city of Donetsk and these
two regions continue to share an industrial history which covers both
steelworks and mining. The term ‘Shakhtar’ itself means ‘Miners’. “The
other similarity between Donetsk and Merthyr Tydfil is the love of football and
we hope that our new away shirt will be a symbol of a peaceful and prosperous
future for Ukraine.”
When news reached Ukraine of Merthyr’s gestures, a story was released via a Ukrainian news channel with an invite to the club to play a friendly after the war at Shakhtar Donetsk’s home stadium, the Donbas Arena.
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