Shakhtar to Use Chelsea’s Stadium for European Home Games, Citing Ukraine’s Visibility
Shakhtar Donetsk will play its European home matches at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge. Club chief executive Sergei Palkin said the arrangement helps keep international attention on Ukraine’s wartime situation. Shakhtar has competed away from its home city since 2014 and hopes to return to Ukraine one day.
Shakhtar left Donetsk in 2014, two years after the European Championship was held in Ukraine, when conflict began in the Donbas. The club initially could still stage European fixtures in western Ukraine, but Russia’s 2022 invasion pushed all its continental matches, along with Ukraine’s national-team games, abroad. Recent host countries have included Poland, Germany and Slovenia.
At Stamford Bridge, Shakhtar are scheduled to face AEK Athens, Sporting Lisbon, Fenerbahce and Real Madrid. Chelsea’s ground was home to Roman Abramovich’s trophy-winning era from 2003 until 2022, when UK sanctions over his Kremlin ties forced a sale. Shakhtar reached the Conference League semi-finals last season and the Europa League last four in 2020.
The move may give Ukrainian supporters and displaced communities a visible European stage, while London audiences could encounter Ukraine’s wartime reality through football. It might sustain international attention, though it may also stir debate because Chelsea’s recent history includes Russian ownership. For Shakhtar’s players and staff, playing abroad could preserve competitive continuity, but it may also reinforce the distance from home and the hope of eventual return.