Football Must Go On
Football Must Go On Trailer - Paramount+ - Plot Synopsis: No team in sports has ever faced the upheaval and challenges of Ukraine champions Shakhtar Donetsk. The four-episode fly-on-the-wall documentary series, “Football Must Go On,” follows the emotional and physical journey of Shakhtar’s players and coaches as they compete in the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League season against the constant backdrop of their homeland being ravaged
by war.
Granted unique access by the team, Paramount+ and CBS Sports go with Shakhtar as the players and coaches juggle the demands of playing in club football’s biggest tournament, while monitoring the horrors unfolding at home. Forced by war to decamp to Poland, Shakhtar must play at “home” against European giants Real Madrid, and others, in a Warsaw stadium that also houses refugees from their homeland.
Wherever they play, Shakhtar must focus on the game in hand with the fate of their loved ones and homeland always on their minds. “Football Must Go On” is a unique juxtaposition of sports glory, the agony of war and the triumph of the human spirit.
by war.
Granted unique access by the team, Paramount+ and CBS Sports go with Shakhtar as the players and coaches juggle the demands of playing in club football’s biggest tournament, while monitoring the horrors unfolding at home. Forced by war to decamp to Poland, Shakhtar must play at “home” against European giants Real Madrid, and others, in a Warsaw stadium that also houses refugees from their homeland.
Wherever they play, Shakhtar must focus on the game in hand with the fate of their loved ones and homeland always on their minds. “Football Must Go On” is a unique juxtaposition of sports glory, the agony of war and the triumph of the human spirit.
Transcript
00:00 We want to show people that we are still alive.
00:02 I would like to know, how is it possible to play football under conditions of a war?
00:12 War, it's all the time inside you.
00:17 The bombs falling on every piece of territory.
00:21 Many soldiers, many people who fight now for us,
00:25 we want our efforts to give them victories.
00:29 This is our duty and football never stops. Football must go on.
00:33 Donetsk is occupied territory and there's a battle line
00:38 between them and many of their loved ones.
00:40 Nobody knows how long can this team sustain under these kind of circumstances.
00:45 Our mission is to play football and we feel this responsibility to Ukrainian people.
00:52 Just the fact that they can even play in the country at all is just honestly astounding.
00:58 It's a war. It's not easy to play with the sirens, with bombs.
01:02 When thousands of refugees came to this region, we organized this shelter.
01:18 As you may see, we have a lot of children loving football very much.
01:24 Shakhtar Donetsk has become a metaphor for the struggle of Ukrainians
01:29 and is epicentral to the endeavor that this team represents and plays for,
01:34 not just the club, but the hearts of 40 million people in Ukraine.
01:40 The kickoff of the UEFA Champions League
01:48 and this season features the most inspirational story in World Football.
01:53 We want to show people that we are still alive.
01:55 We are made from steel. We will fight.
02:02 The same as Ukraine on the battlefield.
02:04 You can try to kill us, you can bomb us every day,
02:17 you can threaten us with a nuclear weapon.
02:21 But come on, we are still playing football.
02:24 -Love me! -Shakhtar!
02:27 UEFA ELECTIONS 2019
02:29 UEFA ELECTIONS 2019
02:31 (dramatic music)