Brentford are in talks with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk over hosting their Champions League fixtures at the Gtech Community Stadium for the forthcoming season.
Shakhtar will directly enter the league phase of the 2026-27 competition.
Initially, they had qualified for the third qualifying round but were moved into the league phase due to Champions League winners Paris St-Germain already qualifying through winning Ligue 1.
Due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Shakhtar have been playing their European matches outside of their home stadium. Last year, their home matches were played across Ljubljana, Slovenia and Krakow, Poland.
Discussions are ongoing between Shakhtar and Brentford over potentially holding their Champions League matches in west London.
A Shakhtar official said, “Shakhtar is currently negotiating with several venues in the United Kingdom and Germany to secure a host stadium for its UEFA Champions League matches next season. We will not comment on the process until a decision is announced in the near future.”
Brentford’s home stadium complies with UEFA’s regulations on stadia hosting Champions League matches and it is understood UEFA would have no issue with this taking place, provided local authorities permit it.
Brentford have been known to rent out their stadium for non-England international friendly matches, the World Sevens Football (a female seven-a-side tournament) and generally consider this option an important additional revenue stream.
With Chelsea and Tottenham both failing to qualify for Europe, Arsenal and Crystal Palace are the only London clubs set to feature across European competitions in 2026-27.
Palace’s fixtures are likely to be played solely on Thursdays, barring any changes, due to being in the Europa League.
Like Shakhtar, Arsenal’s matches in the Champions League are likely to rotate between Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and there will be fewer London-based scheduling issues to contend with than in previous seasons.
During the 2021 Women’s European Championships, played a year later due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Gtech Community Stadium hosted four matches, including Germany’s quarter-final win over Austria.
It has since hosted a 2023 international friendly between Australia’s and New Zealand’s men’s side, the 2025 Unity Cup and in May, the 2026 edition of the Women’s World Sevens football tournament.
(BBC)
