Petr Cech: Ex-Chelsea keeper says sport 'a beautiful tool' as he prepares for charity ice hockey game

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has stressed the power of sport as a platform for generating support for those in need.

The Champions League winner is in Belfast to play in a charity ice hockey game in support of continuing the sport in war-torn Ukraine.

Cech, 40, will guest for Belfast Giants against Ukrainian side Dnipro Kherson on Wednesday night.

"Sport is a beautiful tool to raise money and help in many ways," he said.

Cech, who is currently playing ice hockey for Chelmsford Chieftains, explained how he has a team-mate affected by the conflict in Ukraine.

"At Chelmsford we have a boy who came to the UK from Ukraine because he had to leave the country because of the war," he said.

"As a team-mate you know how tough it might be. He is happy that he can play with us at Chelmsford and get on with life but it is a difficult situation for everybody."

Wednesday night's visitors to Belfast, Dnipro Kherson, play in the Ukrainian National Championship and their stadium has been destroyed in the conflict.

The match is part of an initiative called the Ukrainian Hockey Dream, which aims to raise money to support up to 7,500 young players and coaches across more than 100 clubs and 15 schools in Ukraine.

Before the game, Cech, who won a Champions League and four Premier League titles with Chelsea, spoke of his childhood love of ice hockey and how he used the sport to help prepare for football matches during his playing career.

"I always wanted to play it as a kid and the reason [for not playing it more often] was more the financial reason because we had to buy all the equipment and it was very demanding," he said.

"So my father very cleverly took me to a football stadium and football practice, and the rest is history. I always stayed in touch with ice hockey and I used it as a part of my preparations sometimes.

"When you are a professional for so long and you get into routines, then it is nice to refresh the physical work that you do. I used ice hockey as one of my pitch preparations and then, when I retired from football, I obviously decided to give it a little bit more time."

Cech will play as a netminder for a Belfast Giants All-Stars team made up of current and former players, as well as special guests, and admitted to being nervous about playing well.

He has enjoyed success in Belfast before, in his role as technical and performance adviser at Chelsea, and is hoping for more on Wednesday night.

"I have good memories of Belfast because a couple of years ago we won the Super Cup here with Chelsea and it is nice to have the opportunity to come back.

"I even took a picture of the [Windsor Park] stadium when landing because you could see it. It's always nice to come to places where you have good memories, and I hope to make new ones."