In war-torn occupied territories, fake teams are being deployed as a tool to normalise a violent denial of the past
“On 12 April a new club played its first game in Russia’s football pyramid. A healthy enough crowd gathered at Novokolor Arena in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, 20 miles from the border with Ukraine’s occupied territories, encouraged by a slick buildup on social media. They watched ‘Zarya Luhansk’ begin their slog through the Third League, the fifth tier of a complicated Russian system whose composition shifts annually, with a 5-0 home win over Volgar Astrakhan’s second team. Some had travelled by chartered bus from the city their club purports to represent.The name may sound familiar. …”
Guardian