Shakhtar Donetsk to Play UEFA Champions League 2023/24 Home Fixtures in Germany

Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk will play their home fixtures in the UEFA Champions League in Germany this season at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg.

Shakhtar played their home games in the Polish capital Warsaw last season due to their inability to host European games in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion.

The Ukrainian champion said Friday that UEFA has agreed the team can play in Hamburg where it’s likely to attract the support of Ukrainians who have been displaced during the war and are living in Germany and other countries.

The Ukrainian side took to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce their home ground for the UCL fixtures in the upcoming edition of the elite European tournament.

The Volksparkstadion is home to Hamburger SV, which has been a second-division team since 2018. It’s also a venue for the European Championship in Germany next year.

The stadium has a 57,000 capacity for German league games, including some standing terraces, or 51,500 in all-seater international games.

The prolonged war in Ukraine following the unauthorized entry of Russian troops into sovereign Ukraine borders early last year had brought life to a standstill in the nation.

The repercussions of the actions of Russian Premier Vladimir Putin were felt across the globe as federations and bodies world over slapped sanctions on entities from the Russian state.

The reach of sanctions extended so far that former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic, who reportedly has close links with the Russian premier, was ordered to relinquish his ownership of the London club.

While other sporting bodies slapped a ban on Russian and Belarussian athletes last year and are in the process of permitting athletes from the two countries to participate in global events and tournaments as natural athletes.