Sheriff Tiraspol take on Real Madrid tonight in the Champions League, in only their second ever fixture in the competition. The club is from Transnistria, and belongs to Moldova officially. However, it lies in a territory between Ukraine and Moldova.
The territory considers itself an autonomous state, and is independent from Moldova. They take their independence from Moldova quite seriously, and hosted a referendum to join Russia.
Today, for the first time in the club’s history, a Champions League game will be played at their stadium. Interestingly, the football club controls 60 percent of the local economy, and the average salary in Transnistria is around €200.
Sheriff Tiraspol has won the Moldovan National League 19 times since 1997, and the club is a big entity for the residents of the area. One can find the club emblem, also used as a flag, in every corner of the city.
While there is no formal connection between the club and the political bodies in its territory, Sheriff Tiraspol controls a major part of matters away from football as well. Some of the matters controlled by them away from football include politics and imports.
After the easing in laws dictating a majority of Moldovan players to be able to play for the club, international players have been recruited from 14 countries. Most of them have joined the club as free agents, and the club focuses more on the salary so that they can spend as little as possible on signings.
