Husbands who own Keighley Cougars rugby club distribute kits to Ukraine national teams (EXCLUSIVE)
"All their fathers are fighting the war"
By Aaron Sugg
Keighley Cougars rugby club owners Ryan O’Neill and Kaue Garcia have today (16 July) distributed rugby kits to players across all levels of Ukraine’s national rugby league teams, following their arrival in Kyiv yesterday.
The married couple travelled from the UK to Poland and then undertook a 15-hour bus journey into Ukraine to deliver the kits personally.
The donation includes full playing kits for junior, youth and senior teams, including a special edition ‘We Stand With Ukraine’ print shirt, with all proceeds supporting the Ukrainian national rugby league team.
“Rugby league has become really important for them to have some level of normality”
Speaking exclusively to Attitude, Kaue said: “All their fathers are fighting the war, so playing sports and rugby league has become really important for them to have some level of normality and also seeing friends and staying active.”
Speaking to the co-owners, children from the junior team spoke about what it is like to live in Ukraine in the current political climate: “Well, we can’t say that it is easy, of course it’s not, but now comparing life in Kyiv to life in more eastern regions, it’s definitely easier and more safe. We are okay.”
“Their fathers say it is very hard”
Another child about his friends’ fathers who have been drafted to fight in the war against Russia: “Some of my friends have fathers who have gone for war and they say about communication, their fathers say it is very hard.”
Kaue said: “They are really appreciative of us coming all the way from England to deliver the kits. They were wearing the same kits since 2023, so they were absolutely delighted for our gesture.”
The couple said the children’s mothers came up to hug them and thank them for their support.
This follows a public appeal on Channel 4’s The Last Leg, where host Adam Hills and guest Alastair Campbell highlighted the Ukrainian team’s lack of resources due to the ongoing war with Russia.