Chelsea might host another team’s Champions League games this season in an unusual situation.
Even though Chelsea didn’t qualify for this season’s Champions League, their home ground, Stamford Bridge, might still host some matches. Last season, Chelsea finished 10th and missed out on all UEFA competitions—the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
This means Arsenal is the only London team playing in these European tournaments this year. Premier League clubs like Liverpool, Man City, Aston Villa, and Manchester United are in the Champions League. Bournemouth and Sunderland will play in the Europa League along with Crystal Palace, while Brighton is the only English team in the Conference League.
But here’s the interesting part: Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk has chosen Stamford Bridge as their preferred home stadium for this season’s Champions League. Since 2014, when Donetsk was annexed, Shakhtar has had to play their home games away from the Donbas Arena—in cities like Kyiv and Lviv, and even in countries such as Germany, Slovenia, and Poland.
BBC Sport says both clubs are working on an agreement. Chelsea and Shakhtar share a good relationship, especially after Mykhailo Mudryk’s transfer to Chelsea in 2023, and Chelsea even hosted a charity game called Game4Ukraine. Other Premier League stadiums like Fulham’s Craven Cottage and Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium were considered, but Stamford Bridge’s bigger size (around 40,000 seats) makes it the best choice.
There are about 32,000 Ukrainians living in London, and over 100,000 in the UK. The plan still needs approval from Hammersmith and Fulham Council and UEFA before matches can officially take place at Stamford Bridge.
Shakhtar’s coach, Arda Turan—a former Turkish international and Barcelona midfielder—led the team to last season’s Ukrainian Premier League title, finishing well ahead of the runners-up. Turan shared with Sky Sports how difficult life has been for the team. Before a tough 4-1 loss, his players spent the night in a bomb shelter.
He also told a touching story about Roman, a young Shakhtar fan who had been through 35 surgeries after his house was bombed. Roman visited the team and told Turan, “Don’t be sad. There are good days and bad days. You have to keep going.” This brave eight-year-old gave Turan a powerful life lesson.
Turan said, “Football is important, and we have to work hard for our fans. But it’s just entertainment—not as real as life. Roman reminded me to see the difference.”