A Premier League club might host Champions League games even if they’re not playing in the tournament.
Shakhtar Donetsk might play their Champions League home games in England next season. The Ukrainian champions are talking with several clubs about where to host their matches.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Shakhtar hasn’t been able to play European games in Ukraine because UEFA has banned matches there for safety reasons. The club has been away from their home stadium since 2014 when fighting in the Donbas region forced them out after the Donbas Arena was damaged by shelling.
Since then, Shakhtar has moved between cities like Lviv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv. This season, they’ve been playing their home league games at Arena Lviv. For last season’s European games, they played in Poland at Kraków’s Henryk Reyman Municipal Stadium, the home of Wisła Kraków. But Wisła’s president has said the stadium won’t be available next season since the club moved back to Poland’s top league.
Now, Shakhtar is looking for a new place and is talking with venues in the UK and Germany. London seems to be their favorite choice. Brentford’s 17,000-seat Gtech Community Stadium looks like the top option. Brentford has close ties to the Ukrainian community nearby and has helped displaced Ukrainian families through local projects.
Brentford is used to renting out their stadium and has hosted rugby, international football matches, and other events recently. A Shakhtar spokesperson said they are still deciding and will share news once a decision is made.
Shakhtar will skip July’s qualifying rounds and go straight into the Champions League group stage starting on September 8, with games spread over three days.