Russian astronauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin plan to hold a soccer match aboard the International Space Station with American astronaut Francisco Rubio. This was announced by Russian astronaut Sergey Prokopyev during a press conference held online in connection with the launch of the "Soyuz MS-22" spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on September 21. Prokopyev stated, "All members of our crew love playing soccer. We will have the opportunity to hold a soccer match on the International Space Station. I previously played soccer aboard the station in 2018 with my colleagues Oleg Artemyev and Alexander Gerst, and we brought a soccer ball to the station, as well as tennis and badminton rackets and other sports favored by our astronauts."
It's worth noting that the Russian astronauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, along with American astronaut Francisco Rubio, will replace crew members 67 at the International Space Station: Oleg Artemyev, Sergey Korsakov, and Denis Matveev, who will return to Earth on September 29. The crewed "Soyuz MS-22" spacecraft is set to launch from Baikonur at 16:54 Moscow time on September 21.
