KYIV, Ukraine (AP) 鈥� Ukrainian soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk said on Friday it has agreement to play home games at Chelsea, which for nearly 20 years was owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
Shakhtar has at least four home games in the elite competition that starts in September but for security reasons during the full Russian military invasion that started in February 2022.
The war begun by Russia also under pressure from British government sanctions. The now includes United States businessman Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali of Clearlake Capital.
Shakhtar said it will play four home games in the main phase at Chelsea鈥檚 Stamford Bridge 鈥渟ubject to regulatory approvals鈥� from UEFA. The opponents will be decided at the competition draw next Thursday in Monaco.
鈥淥ur true home is Ukraine, and we all hope that very soon we will be able to play European football in front of our own fans again,鈥� Shakhtar said. 鈥淏ut while the war makes this impossible, Stamford Bridge is an exceptional place for us to call home in Europe.”
It has been unable to play in Donetsk since 2014 when Russian-backed conflict started in the Donbas region.
Shakhtar played UEFA competition games around Ukraine from 2014-21 and since 2022 in Poland, Germany and Slovenia. The team has yet to play a home game in England.
Chelsea’s squad includes former Shakhtar winger Mykhaylo Mudryk. Chelsea did not qualify for any UEFA competition this season and will not have fixture clashes with the Ukrainian champion.
鈥淥ver the coming weeks we will work closely with Shakhtar to ensure the matches are held safely and comfortably for the team and its supporters,鈥� Chelsea said.
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