The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has brought some changes for Shakhtar Donetsk- but where do the Ukrainian side play?
Where Do Shakhtar Donetsk Play League Matches?
Shakhtar Donetsk have been forced to play their football away from their home stadium due to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The Ukrainian side originally played their home matches in Kharkiv in the north east of Ukraine, despite using the training facilities in Kyiv and these cities are just under 450 miles away from one another.
Since May 2020, Shakhtar hosted their league matches at the Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex and this season, they have played in Arena Lviv.
Shakhtar are the most decorated team in the Ukrainian Premier League, winning a record 15 titles and are the current holders.
Where Do Shakhtar Donetsk Play In European Competitions?
In February 2022, UEFA ordered Shakhtar Donetsk to play their European matches outside of Ukraine and in last season’s Champions League, they played their home matches at Legia Warsaw’s Stadion Wojska Polskiego.
Shakhtar have now switched location and play their European fixtures in Germany – at Hamburg’s home ground, the Volksparkstadion.
After finishing third in Group H of the Champions League, Shakhtar dropped in to the Europa League play offs and face Marseille.
Where Did Shakhtar Donetsk Play Before The Conflict?.
The ever-rising nature of Russia and Ukraine’s conflict meant Shakhtar had no choice to move all matches from their home ground – the Donbass Arena.
No match has been played at the stadium since April 2014, as Shakhtar beat Mariupol 3-1 to win a fifth straight league title.
Only 18,000 people turned up to watch the celebration, despite the stadium having a capacity of 52,898 – highlighting the severity at hand.
The Donbass Arena is over 800 miles away from Arena Lviv, which is where Shakhtar play their home matches in the Ukrainian League now.
League Matches: Arena Lviv, Ukraine (34,915 capacity)
European Matches: Volksparkstadion, Germany (57,000 capacity)
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