Chelsea finished a lowly 10th in the Premier League last season, thus finishing two places outside the whopping eight spots for qualification to continental European football tournaments that is on offer. However, their stadium Stamford Bridge in London will host matches in the Champions League, the highest level of European football, as a makeshift home for Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.

“Subject to regulatory approvals, FC Shakhtar will play their home matches of the UEFA Champions League league phase at Stamford Bridge for the 2026/27 season,” said Chelsea in a statement on Friday.

Why Shakhtar are playing their home matches in London

Shakhtar Donetsk’s traditional home, as suggested by the name, is the city of Donetsk in the eastern part of the country. They have been unable to play in the city since the War in Donbas broke out in April 2014. Since then, Shakhtar have played their domestic matches in Kyiv and Lviv. For European fixtures, the club has thus far played their home matches in Hamburg, Warsaw, Gelsenkirchen, Krakow and Ljubljana.

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“FC Shakhtar have played in countries across Europe and we look forward to welcoming them to London for their Champions League campaign this year. We will be working with the Shakhtar team closely over the coming weeks to ensure that matchdays run safely and smoothly for their team and supporters,” said Chelsea, formerly owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

It was during Abramovich’s stewardship between 2003 and 2022 that Chelsea rose to become one of the most succesfull clubs in Europe and among the biggest football brands in the world. Chelsea had won the English top flight league title just once in 1954/55 until then but went on to win the Premier League five times. Chelsea also won the Champions League in 2012 and 2021.

Abramovich was hit with sanctions by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, triggering the sale of the club to a group led by American investor Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.