Chelsea agrees to host FC Shakhtar’s Champions League matches at Stamford Bridge for 2026/27 season

Stamford Bridge is about to get Champions League football next season. Just not Chelsea’s. FC Shakhtar Donetsk will play its home UEFA Champions League fixtures at Chelsea’s ground during the 2026/27 campaign, the clubs confirmed. The arrangement gives Shakhtar a prestigious London venue for Europe’s top club competition while Chelsea, who finished 10th in the Premier League and won’t be playing in any European tournament themselves, gets to keep the lights on midweek. A stadium without a team meets a team without a stadium Shakhtar hasn’t played a competitive home match at its actual home, the Donbas Arena in Donetsk, since May 2014. The ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine made that impossible over a decade ago, and the situation hasn’t changed. Since then, the club has been a continental nomad, staging its European “home” matches across Germany, Slovenia, and Poland. Stamford Bridge, with its approximately 40,000 capacity and location in one of Europe’s most connected cities, represents a significant upgrade. The agreement was finalized on August 14, 2026, and covers at least four league-phase matches during the upcoming Champions League season. Both UEFA and the Hammersmith &...