Chelsea will not be in the Champions League, or European football at all for that matter, but Stamford Bridge may be set for an appearance
A general view of the Champions League matchball prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD5 match between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona at Stamford Bridge on November 25, 2025 in London, England.
Stamford Bridge may feature in next season's Champions League(Image: 2025 UEFA)
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Shakhtar Donetsk are hoping to use Stamford Bridge for their home matches in the Champions League. The Ukrainian side qualified for Europe's elite competition this season, while Chelsea missed out on all European football this season.
Shakhtar have not been able to play at their home-ground since 2014. Two years after the Donbass Arena played host to several EURO 2012 matches, Russia annexed the eastern Ukrainian city, thus preventing Donetsk from being able to use the 52,000 capacity stadium.
As a result, the club have had to play their home matches in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Lviv, with European fixtures also being hosted in Germany, Slovenia and Poland. However, it's understood they now want to take their home matches to Stamford Bridge for this season's European campaign.
When approached for a comment by football.london, Shakhtar explained they have nothing to add apart from an announcement is due to be made soon.
According to the BBC, Chelsea have made it clear this move has nothing to do with commercial motives for the club. It's also understood Brentford's G-Tech Community Stadium and Fulham's Craven Cottage were also discussed as potential venues.
However, Stamford Bridge is believed to be the preferred destination due to it's bigger capacity. Moreover, the west Londoners have a positive relationship with Shakhtar dating back to the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk.
Shakhtar Donetsk players pose for a team photo before the UEFA Conference League 2025/26 round of 16 first leg match between KKS Lech Poznan and FC Shakhtar Donetsk at Poznan Stadium on March 12, 2026 in Poznan, Poland
Shakhtar could feature at Stamford Bridge this season(Image: 2026 Vitalii Kliuiev)
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In addition, there are understood to be around 32,000 Ukraine born people who live in London, making Stamford Bridge the ideal location to attract those people to games - a further 100,000 people of Ukrainian heritage are also believed to be in the capital.
In 2023, Stamford Bridge also played host to the Game4Ukraine friendly match which raised money for the reconstruction of the Mykhailo-Kotsiubynsky School in Chernihiv Oblast, which was struck by Russian missiles.
Shakhtar reached the semi-final of the Europa League, where they were knocked out by Crystal Palace. Despite the disappointment, it was an extraordinary achievement considering they had no regular home ground.
The players of the Blue Team and Yellow Team pose with the trophy after a draw during the Game4Ukraine charity match at Stamford Bridge at Stamford Bridge on August 05, 2023 in London, England. Legend Andriy Shevchenko, Arsenal player and Ukraine captain Oleksandr Zinchenko, with the support of President Zelenskyy's UNITED24 initiative, will be joined by leading players and icons from the world of TV, sport, film and music in aid of Ukraine
Chelsea hosted the GAME4UKRAINE last season (Image: 2023 Chelsea FC)
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They secured an automatic place in next season's Champions League after Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal both qualified through their league finishes. This paved a path for Ukraine to move into the league phase after they topped the UEFA coefficient ranking, finishing 9.75 points ahead of second placed Crvena Zvezda.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are not competing in Europe this season as a result of last season's disappointing 10th placed finish. This makes the prospect of Shakhtar playing at the Bridge easier, as there should not be too many fixture clashes.
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