Shakhtar to play their Champions League matches at Stamford Bridge! (Official)

Forced to play far from Donetsk, Shakhtar has chosen Chelsea's ground after securing direct qualification for the league phase.

Shakhtar Donetsk will host their home matches in the 2026-2027 Champions League at Stamford Bridge. The announcement, made official on Friday, comes after weeks of negotiations with Chelsea, whose stadium will now host the Ukrainian champions during the league phase.

This decision is a direct result of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Having been unable to use the Donbass Arena since 2014, Shakhtar cannot stage European fixtures in their home country. After stints in Poland, Germany, and Slovenia, London offers a 40,000-seat venue with no scheduling conflicts, as Chelsea will not participate in any UEFA competitions. The presence of a Ukrainian community in the UK was also a decisive factor.

Ukrainian champions and directly qualified

On the sporting side, Shakhtar are coming off a stellar 2025-2026 campaign. Under Arda Turan, they clinched the Ukrainian title with 72 points from 30 matches, racking up 22 wins, six draws, and just two defeats. They finished twelve points clear of LNZ Cherkasy and reached the semi-finals of the Conference League.

The club skipped all Champions League qualifying rounds this summer, entering straight into the league phase thanks to their UEFA coefficient of 56.250 and the domestic qualifications of PSG and Arsenal, both finalists in the previous edition. Shakhtar will learn their group-stage opponents at the draw.

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Mahdi Zakaria LAZRI |

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Football web writer creating digital sports content with a focus on news, analysis and stories that reflect passion, accuracy and objectivity.

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