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Ukrainian giant wants to play Champions League home games in London
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia /Sports

Ukrainian giant wants to play Champions League home games in London

From Veฤernji List · () Croatian

Translated from Croatian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk wants to play its Champions League home matches at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium in London.
  • Shakhtar has been unable to play in Donetsk since 2014 due to the Russian annexation and has played European games in Germany and Poland.
  • The club believes it could fill Stamford Bridge, citing a large Ukrainian population in London and the UK.

Ukrainian football giant Shakhtar Donetsk hopes to host its Champions League home games at London's iconic Stamford Bridge this season. The club has been displaced from its home stadium, the Donbas Arena, since 2014 following Russia's annexation of the region.

For years, Shakhtar has played its European matches in neutral venues across Germany and Poland. However, with Chelsea's recent poor performance meaning they are not competing in Europe this season, the possibility of using their 40,000-capacity stadium has emerged.

Shakhtar believes Stamford Bridge could be filled, pointing to the significant Ukrainian diaspora in the UK. An estimated 32,000 Ukrainians live in London alone, with a total of 100,000 people of Ukrainian origin residing across Great Britain. This large community could provide strong support for the team.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Veฤernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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