Shakhtar Donetsk could play home games in the Champions League in England next season.

The Ukrainian champions are in talks with several clubs to find a stadium where they will play their European matches.

Shakhtar has not been able to host international matches in Ukraine since the full Russian occupation in 2022, as UEFA has banned European matches in the country for security reasons.

in fact, the club has been away from Donetsk since 2014, when the fighting in the Donbass region forced it to abandon the “Donbas Arena” after the stadium was hit by bombings.

Since then, Shakhtar has played in Lviv, Kharkiv and Kiev, while the Ukrainian championship matches are held at Arena Lviv since the 2023/24 season.

For European matches, last season the club played in Poland, host their opponents at Krakow’s 33,326-capacity Henryk Reyman Stadium, Wisła Kraków’s stadium.

However, Wisła Kraków’s president, Jarosław Królewski, has confirmed that the stadium will not be available next season, as the club has returned to the elite of Polish football.

This has forced Shakhtar to look for a new stadium, while the club has confirmed that it is in negotiations with several sports facilities in the United Kingdom and Germany. London is reported to be the preferred choice.

The main favorite is the 17,000-seater Gtech Community Stadium, home of Brentford.

Brentford has strong links with the Ukrainian community, as the neighboring areas of Hounslow and Ealing have a large number of Ukrainian residents. The club has also supported displaced Ukrainian families through local projects.

Furthermore, Brentford have experience in renting out the stadium for other activities. The Gtech Community Stadium has hosted the London Irish rugby team between 2020 and 2023, the Unity Cup in 2025, the World Sevens Football tournament in May, as well as several international matches.

“Shakhtar is currently in negotiations with several stadiums in the UK and Germany to secure a facility to host Champions League matches next season. We will not comment further until a decision is made in the near future.”

Shakhtar will start their European adventure directly from the league stage of the Champions League, avoiding the qualifying rounds in July. The league stage begins on September 8 and will take place over three consecutive days.

Source: prizrenpost