Since being forced to leave the city of Donetsk in 2014, Shakhtar have been on a never-ending odyssey to find a place to play their home games.
With UEFA banning European competition matches in Ukraine because of the military threat, the club have already played in Poland and Germany.
But for this Champions League season (2026/27), their chosen "home" is Stamford Bridge in London.
The struggle to reconcile the pride of competing in the world's biggest club tournament with being exiled from their homeland was neatly summed up by former player and current club CEO Darijo Srna in an interview with ge.
"We lost Donetsk, our stadium, our training ground, our homes and our fans. We played in Lviv, we played in Kharkiv, we played in Kyiv. After the full-scale war began in 2022, we played in Poland and Germany. We're everywhere. We're a team without a home. (...) We hope to have a great atmosphere at the stadium (Stamford Bridge) and strong support from the fans. England and the United Kingdom are supporting many Ukrainians during the war. They opened their doors," he said.
The choice of the legendary English stadium rested on three main factors, as ge's report highlighted.
- A gap in the schedule: Chelsea, who own Stamford Bridge, are not competing in European competitions this season, leaving the stadium's schedule open to host Shakhtar's midweek matches.
- A strong Ukrainian community: The United Kingdom is now home to more than 217,000 Ukrainians. The club hope this diaspora, who fled the war, will fill the stands and recreate the warmth of playing at home.
- British hospitality and historic prestige: England has been one of the countries most welcoming to Ukrainian refugees. Playing at one of world football's most iconic venues also helps keep up the spirits of a squad facing an exhausting travel schedule.
Despite being accustomed to rotating players and the strain of being a team constantly on the move, their hope, as the report highlights, remains the same: an end to the war and a return to the Donbass Arena.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.