Shakhtar Donetsk will use Stamford Bridge as their Champions League home ground for the 2026/27 season, following an agreement with Chelsea to host the exiled Ukrainian club's European matches in west London.

The club had previously been linked with a move to Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium, but ultimately settled on Chelsea's 40,044-capacity ground several miles closer to central London.

A home among a large Ukrainian community

The choice of west London carries symbolic weight. At the time of the 2021 UK census, around 19,000 Ukrainians were recorded as living in London, a figure that has grown considerably since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — with an estimated 45,000 Ukrainians having settled in the capital since then, many of them in the west London area around Stamford Bridge.

Shakhtar will play at least four home matches at the ground, having qualified directly for the league phase of the Champions League by winning the Ukrainian Premier League last season.

Chelsea's European absence opens the door

Chelsea acknowledged that their own difficult 2025/26 campaign helped make the arrangement possible. The club finished 10th in the Premier League and will not be competing in European football this season, freeing up Stamford Bridge for Shakhtar's continental fixtures.

In a statement, Shakhtar said: