In London, Shakhtar Donetsk will make a Champions League home debut that says as much about exile as football. The Ukrainian club, driven from Donetsk for more than a decade, will host Greece’s AEK at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday in the second round of the 2026/27 league phase.
The news from the club
Stamford Bridge, normally Chelsea’s home, has been made available because Chelsea are not involved in European competition this season. Arsenal are the only London club in this season’s Champions League, leaving the west London ground free on the required dates.
For Shakhtar, the choice is another chapter in a long search for somewhere to play. Darijo Srna, the former Shakhtar player who is now an executive at the club, described a team separated from every part of its former life in Donetsk.
“We lost Donetsk: the stadium, the training base, our homes and our supporters,” Srna said. “We have played in Lviv, Kharkiv and Kyiv. Since the full-scale war began in 2022, we have also played in Poland and Germany. We are a club without a home.”
Shakhtar left Donetsk in 2014 after Russian forces took control of the Donbas region. Lviv, roughly 1,200 kilometres west of Donetsk, initially became the club’s domestic base, but the disruption has affected supporters and staff as well as the first team.
UEFA does not permit Champions League matches in Ukraine because of the continuing military danger, including missile and drone strikes. Shakhtar have therefore used neighbouring countries for European fixtures in previous campaigns. During their 2024/25 Champions League participation, their designated home venue was the Arena AufSchalke in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, home of Schalke 04.
London was selected this time not only because of stadium availability, but also because the United Kingdom has a substantial Ukrainian population. More than 217,000 Ukrainians are estimated to be living in the country, and Shakhtar hope that community will give their temporary home a meaningful atmosphere.
Srna said the club expects strong backing in the stands and praised Britain’s support for Ukrainians since the war began. He called Stamford Bridge a distinctive, historic arena and said playing Champions League matches there would be a privilege.
The arrangement brings another demanding travel cycle. Shakhtar must combine European journeys across the continent with their Ukrainian league commitments, and Srna said the squad is being managed through regular rotation.
“We have around 26 or 27 players and rotate the side every three days,” he said. “Unfortunately, this has become familiar to us. We want the war to end as soon as possible so that we can play in our own country, in front of our own people.”
A farewell still visible in Donetsk
Shakhtar’s final match at the Donbass Arena was played on 2 May 2014. More than 18,000 spectators watched the home side beat Illichivets Mariupol 3-1, with Brazilian pair Luiz Adriano and Douglas Costa among the scorers.
Opened in 2009, the Donbass Arena had been one of the landmarks of Ukrainian football and staged matches during Euro 2012. It was damaged amid the conflict in eastern Ukraine in August 2014, only months after Shakhtar’s departure, and has not hosted the club since.
More than a decade later, images from the stadium still show Luiz Adriano and Douglas Costa on its exterior, preserving a glimpse of the successful Donetsk era that was interrupted by war.
Shakhtar’s next temporary home is now in west London. Kick-off against AEK is scheduled for 16:00 Brasília time on Wednesday, with a historic English ground serving a Ukrainian club still waiting to return to Donetsk.
