LNZ Cherkasy, a Ukrainian club that was playing fourth-tier football in 2021 and only turned professional the previous year, will make its European debut on Thursday against Belgian side Gent in the second qualifying round of the Conference League. The club finished runners-up in Ukraine's top flight last season, a remarkable achievement given the ongoing war with Russia.
Rapid Rise from Fourth Tier
LNZ Cherkasy were in the fourth tier as recently as 2021 and turned professional only in 2020. By the 2025-26 season, they were top of the league at the halfway point, ultimately finishing behind Shakhtar Donetsk. Their rise has few modern parallels in European football, especially during wartime.
“We are making history,” said LNZ striker Mark Assinor. “But there’s been a change in mentality here and I think this is only a starting point for the club.”
Youthful Leadership and Ambition
At 26, Vasyl Kayuk is the youngest chief executive in Ukrainian top-flight history. “No one expected anything from us,” he said. “The biggest motivation and advantage is that you are young and nobody believes in you.” Kayuk and his similarly fresh, energetic staff are determined for LNZ to break a mould.
“The city never had anything similar to this,” Kayuk added. The club is owned by a locally based agribusiness from which it takes its name, which has invested purposefully despite the turmoil of war. “We always say that we are not sprinters, we are marathon runners. We want to build our club and become stable.”
On-Field Success and Mentality Shift
LNZ exceeded every projection in only their third top-flight season, having finished 12th the year before. A shocking 4-1 win at Shakhtar in October 2025, with Assinor among the scorers, sparked an improbable title charge. A run of draws later in the campaign allowed Shakhtar to pull away, but foundations are being laid to ensure LNZ remain serious contenders.
Manager Vitaliy Ponomaryov, 52, a straight-talking coach who previously officiated as an assistant referee in top-flight games, cautioned against complacency. “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.”
Scouting and Squad Building
Assinor, a Ghanaian forward, was a dazzling find in 2024 after stints with obscure outfits in Poland and Slovakia, embodying a scouting setup not geared towards paying huge fees. “When we realised we had a chance of achieving something, everyone started to believe. He motivated everybody when he came in,” Assinor said of Ponomaryov.
War's Impact and Community Spirit
Ukrainian sides are still required to play European games abroad due to the precarious security situation at home. LNZ will host the first leg against Gent in the Polish city of Plock. The war touches every part of life at the club. In the training ground gym, physio Artur Pohorilyi described his time as a war medic and surviving a blast near Izyum in 2023. Club doctor Roman Mishchenko spends time at a hospital for injured soldiers in Cherkasy, to which LNZ also donate money, and works in Ukraine's system for amputee footballers.
At LNZ's academy base in a repurposed Soviet-era sanatorium, under-16s coach Alexei Bulgakov – formerly of now-dormant FC Mariupol, which was destroyed when Russia attacked the city – trains youngsters from illegally occupied parts of Ukraine. Some of their parents remain in those places. “We speak to each other, talk about sights and buildings in our cities, and expect that some day we will be able to return,” Bulgakov said. “The club understands how hard things are for young players from these areas, and it’s very happy to give them opportunities.”
Infrastructure and Fan Growth
The training ground is new and impressive by Ukrainian standards but considered only 35% complete, with plans for three more pitches, an indoor dome, and a new stadium over the next five years. Crowds at their ageing city-centre ground trebled last season to more than 2,000, no small feat in wartime. Children under 14 can attend for free, fostering a matchgoing culture.
“We want to make this city purple, our special colour,” Kayuk said. “This club is for our people but we also want Ukrainians to associate themselves with us, with the country’s centre. And that when they think of Cherkasy, they think of football. We want to become a real power in our league.”
Gent will be the first foreign opponents to feel the purple wave’s emerging force, though a tussle with Arsenal’s corner specialists remains a distant ambition.
