The small corner of Manchester welcoming football fans of a different kind during the Euros

These days fanzones and pubs are the place to be if you want to watch the games alongside fellow England supporters, but there’s one small corner of Manchester that is welcoming fans of a different kind. 

Stunner vintage football shirt shop on South King Street was opened in October last year, by Serge Shcherbyna and Polina Vynohradova, two enterprising young Ukrainians with a passion for football and fashion.

They settled in Manchester after fleeing Kyiv when the war broke out. In the short time that they’ve been here, they have done a lot more than simply sell vintage football shirts. They’ve expanded the operation into the media space, photographing football matches across Europe, producing creative social media content and hosting exhibitions, match screenings and other events from the basement room of their city centre premises. And in doing so, they’ve built a growing community of like-minded football enthusiasts. 

So with their national team competing in one of the world’s biggest international sporting events, it was only fitting that Stunner would host. We went to join them for Ukraine’s second group match against Slovakia. 

There were both Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian people there. Some had never been to the shop before and only found out about it online, others had known Polina and Serge when they were still living in Kyiv. For everyone there though, it was important that there was somewhere like this to watch the Ukrainian national team. 

Ahead of kick-off, the mood was apprehensive. Ukraine were originally tipped as one of the dark horses of the competition, but their 3-0 defeat against neighbouring Romania in their first group match had left a lot to be desired.

Maria Romanenko, a prominent member of the Ukrainian community in Manchester, known for her volunteer work supporting Ukraine, said: “I had high hopes for the previous game against Romania. It was very unexpected that Ukraine lost. It just seems that something has not been clicking. Whether it’s Rebrov and not very good management or whether its the team has not had much practice together. They’re obviously all good footballers collectively but something just didn’t click last time.” 

Mychaylo Jaworskyj, a British-born Ukrainian, had come from Bradford with his partner to watch the match at Stunner. A staunch supporter of Ukrainian footballer, Mychaylo travels to as many matches as he can. That’s how he met Serge and Polina. Commenting on their shop, he said: “It’s more than a shop, it’s a cultural hang out. You feel like you’re home when you walk in, like you’re in someone’s front room.”

Providing the refreshments for the afternoon’s game was Bundobust brewery. The popular Indian street food and craft ale restaurant with franchises across the country was co-founded by British-Ukrainian Marko Husak, who is also a fan of Stunner. Polina and Serge were recently asked to help promote Bundobust’s new football shirts, released in time for the Euros.  

Apprehension in the room turned to disappointment early on when Slovakia scored after 17th minute. By the end of the first half, everyone in the room seemed deflated. 

During half time, we went outside for a breather and conversation turned to the war. For over two years now, Ukraine has been fighting off Russia's invasion. We reflected on how this must be affecting the Ukrainian players. 

On the one hand, many of the players are living abroad and playing for international teams, therefore removed from the everyday struggles of war. On the other hand, staying in the tournament means keeping Ukraine in the minds of the public at a time when the war no longer dominates headlines here in the UK.

For many Ukrainians now, though, war is just a fact of life. Daria, who is from Dnipro but moved to Manchester a year ago, came to Stunner to watch alongside other Ukrainians. She said: “For now, it’s easier to close your mind to everything. But I think there might be more drive for them, to show that we are strong, we will beat everyone.

“It’s something that becomes routine. Every morning you wake up with news that the city was bombed, it’s just routine unfortunately. My house was partly destroyed by a Russian missile. But it’s easier than the first six months of war. I was just used to living in this environment. I think every Ukrainian is now more used to living in war time.”

Declan, who was with his Ukrainian partner Karina, offered an outside perspective on Ukraine’s performance in light of the war. He said: “I’m not Ukrainian, but one thing I’ve noticed is that whenever there is any mention of Ukraine, and the war and the patriotism that Ukrainians have – they’re going to fight in the second half to make sure they’re not sent home early. Because being on a stage like the Euros is really important because it keeps Ukraine in the mind’s eye. For that reason alone, I’d like to see Ukraine take it on.”

We moved inside again to watch the second half, although enthusiasm had dipped. As Serge announced: “The misery parade continues,” followed by, “I wish we never qualified.”

But that did not last long. Ukraine scored their first goal of both the match and the tournament early on in the second half and noticeably picked up the pace. It wasn’t until the second and winning goal in the 78th minute that the mood truly lifted. Some people even backtracked on jokes they’d made earlier about Ukraine manager Serhiy Rebrov: “He’s great, definitely should not be sacked.”

Before today’s match, Ukraine’s position in the tournament was uncertain but now the group is wide open. Ukraine is tied with neighbours Slovakia and Romania at three points, while Belgium, who Ukraine play on Wednesday, are at the bottom with zero. 

Serge said that supporting the Ukrainian national team always comes with these dramatic ups and downs, and the matches so far had left him “exhausted.” But the Euros have the potential to bring a much needed boost to war-torn Ukraine.

Serge said: “In the end, football could be one of those things that is still capable of providing you with some positive emotions for a change. It doesn’t always apply with our national team, but if you are a supporter of the Ukrainian national team, you know what you are getting in to. ‘Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shit,’ to quote the great Gennaro Gattuso.

“As we’ve learned today, we’ve got this much needed positive emotion and the same applies to those brave warriors on the frontline because they are watching it as well. They might have been disappointed with the first result, as all of us have been, this game leaves us very much hopeful and it’s good to have football.”