Dynamo Moscow's footballers played a match in support of the Far Eastern leopards.

      16 September 2025 12:15

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      Sport. An initiative by VTB Bank and the Land of the Leopard national park aimed at conserving the planet’s rarest big cat — the Amur leopard — has found support in the football community. FC Dynamo Moscow joined the project and on September 13 dedicated their match against FC Spartak Moscow to the Amur leopards. This was reported by the press service of FC Dynamo Moscow.

      The legendary derby between FC Dynamo Moscow and FC Spartak Moscow took place on September 13. The Moscow derby is the oldest and one of the most famous football rivalries in Russia, with roots dating back to 1923. It has become a kind of calling card for Moscow football and for many years was considered the country’s main derby.

      Before the match, the Dynamo players took the field at the VTB Arena in special shirts featuring the Amur leopard in an unusual blue coloration. They did this to support the project of the club’s main sponsor, VTB Bank, and to draw attention to the need to protect the planet’s rarest big cat, of which just over 120 remain in Russia.

      Attention to rare animal species plays a decisive role in their conservation, so before the game and during the match the Amur leopard became the main attraction at the VTB Arena: before the game fans took part in a “Following the Leopard” quest; during the match young spectators were given souvenir paws; fans took part in a gift drop (parachute-dropped gifts) featuring a limited “wild merch” collection from VTB; and the leopard was integrated into the main screen and the game broadcast.

      Just 20 years ago the Amur leopard population was at a critical level — only 35 animals remained in the wild. Thanks to intensified protection efforts, the fight against poaching and fires, increases in ungulate numbers and educational work, the population has been preserved and grown — today it numbers more than 120 individuals.

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