A will to win: War and women’s football in Ukraine

When Christine Karelska decided to study the politics of football during an international relations course in Tallinn, it raised a few eyebrows. Now assistant to the vice mayor of Odesa, Karelska spoke to ERR News’ Michael Cole about her research on women’s football in Ukraine and why sports diplomacy is so important during times of war.

Ukrainian researcher Christine Karelska has always loved football. When she took a course in international relations at the Estonian School of Diplomacy in Tallinn, it was the perfect opportunity to dig even deeper into the politics of her favorite sport.

“It was really interesting to look at football from the academic point of view, using lots of international relations theories,” Karelska tells me.

“Of course people were surprised,” she admits, “especially the professors. Because this topic is quite unique from an academic point of view – it’s really weird to study football as a science,” she laughs.