Despite Chelsea's setback: the Champions League knocks on Stamford Bridge's doors once again

The Champions League nears despite Chelsea's absence

Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk are seeking to play their designated home matches in this season's UEFA Champions League at Stamford Bridge, the famous stronghold of English club Chelsea.

The team have been unable to use their historic Donbass Arena stadium since 2014 because of the Russian-Ukrainian war. That has forced the club to play their domestic matches in Kyiv and Lviv, while shuttling between Germany, Slovenia and Poland to host their European fixtures.

Negotiations between the two parties are still ongoing, according to the BBC. Chelsea's stadium is the preferred option for the Ukrainian club, who want to make use of its capacity of up to 40,000 spectators.

Sources told the BBC the move is not commercially motivated. Instead, it builds on the strong relationship that has developed between the two clubs since Mykhailo Mudryk joined Chelsea in 2023.

Shakhtar had studied other options for bringing elite European football back to west London, among them Fulham's Craven Cottage and Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium. The limited capacity of those two grounds tips the balance in favour of Stamford Bridge, where club officials are counting on glamour fixtures against Europe's biggest teams to draw large crowds and fill the stands completely.

Chelsea's tenth-place finish in the Premier League last season makes the step easier. It denied them European football and guarantees no clash in match schedules, although staging the fixtures will remain subject to approval from Hammersmith and Fulham council, as well as the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA).