You're reading: Russian club stages charity game for crash victims

MOSCOW — Russian football club Rostov says it will play Premier League side Portsmouth in a charity game next month to raise money for the families of the top ice hockey team killed in a plane crash.

The RIA Novosti news agency quoted Rostov director Yuri Belous as saying Wednesday that the game will be played at Fratton Park in Portsmouth on Oct. 5. Belous said the proposal came from Roman Dubov, co-founder of the Convers Sports Initiative investment vehicle that took over Portsmouth earlier this year.

The Sept. 7 crash of a chartered Yak-42 plane near Yaroslavl in western Russia killed 37 players, coaches and staff of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a top Russian ice hockey team. The victims included several former NHL players and future draft prospects.