{"id":18242,"date":"2026-07-17T12:57:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T12:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=18242"},"modified":"2026-07-17T12:57:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T12:57:13","slug":"chelsea-in-talks-to-let-champions-league-club-play-matches-at-stamford-bridge-next-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=18242","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea in talks to let Champions League club play matches at Stamford Bridge next season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-377513\">\n<div class=\"article-follow\">\n<div class=\"article-sharing google-follow\">  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/wp-content\/themes\/grv-media\/img\/google-discover.svg\" alt=\"\"\/> <span>Add as preferred source on Google<\/span>  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Shakhtar Donetsk could play their home Champions League fixtures at Stamford Bridge next season as Chelsea emerge as a potential lifesaver for the Ukrainian giants.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Due to UEFA safety restrictions amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, FC Shakhtar Donetsk have faced the logistical headache of being a top European side without a permanent European home. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>Forced to wander across the continent for over a decade, they have previously staged their Champions League and European matches in neutral venues across Poland, Germany, and Slovenia. <\/p>\n<p>However, heading into the upcoming season, the club is facing yet another venue dilemma.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"5a9c74ee-9dfb-4c17-80a3-f12c2bcadb5e\" data-story-name=\"Talk Chelsea\" data-comment-id=\"3df06f4b-931c-40ed-aef1-f726083682bc\" data-story-slug=\"talk-chelsea\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">How do you feel about this, Chelsea fans?\ud83e\udd14<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Chelsea in talks over Shakhtar Donetsk playing at Stamford Bridge\" class=\"wp-image-377523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/transfer-rumour-2.png 1080w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"A generic interior partial view of Stamford Bridge is seen ahead of the VisitMalta weekender soccer match between Chelsea FC and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Stamford Bridge in London, United Kingdom, on August 8, 2025. (Photo by Domenic Aquilina\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)\">Photo by Domenic Aquilina\/NurPhoto via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-chelsea-and-fulham-in-the-running-to-host-shakhtar-donetsk\">Chelsea and Fulham in the running to host Shakhtar Donetsk<\/h2>\n<p>Ukrainian journalist Ihor Burbas says Shakhtar Donetsk could play their Champions League games next season at Chelsea\u2018s Stamford Bridge, while speaking on the BurBuzz YouTube channel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs far as I have heard and understand, the stadium is too small for them at Brentford, which only holds 17,000 people. That\u2019s it. And now, as far as I understand, Shakhtar is choosing between two stadiums. This is Stamford Bridge, Chelsea\u2019s home Stadium, and Craven Cottage, Fulham\u2019s home stadium. Well, in principle, Craven Cottage accommodates about 25,000, that is, more than Brentford.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-could-the-groundshare-work-for-chelsea\">How could the groundshare work for Chelsea?<\/h2>\n<p>For the stadium owner, temporary groundshares are treated as lucrative commercial rentals. The host club charges a substantial flat fee per match or takes a cut of the gate receipts and hospitality sales, ensuring all operations, stewarding, and policing costs are covered by the visitors. <\/p>\n<p>Of course, it provides a great secondary revenue stream on otherwise quiet mid-week nights, but it requires meticulous scheduling to protect the pitch and avoid clashes with the Blues\u2019 own fixtures.<\/p>\n<p>Tottenham pocketed millions renting the Tottenham Hotspur stadium out to a variety of events, while venues like Hamburg\u2019s Volksparkstadion previously profited by hosting Shakhtar\u2019s European nights.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/chelsea-in-talks-to-let-champions-league-club-play-matches-at-stamford-bridge-next-season\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0),j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)(0);e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")(0).appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Chelsea in talks to let Champions League club play matches at Stamford Bridge next season',content_category:'News',content_ids:(377513,\"stamford-bridge\"),content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Add as preferred source on Google Shakhtar Donetsk could play their home Champions League fixtures&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}