Champions League: Brentford in talks to keep Shakhtar matches

Brentford are in talks with Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk about hosting their Champions League matches at the Zitec Community Stadium for the upcoming season.

Shakhtar will enter the league stage of the 2026-27 competition directly.

Initially, they qualified for the third qualifying round but went through to the league stage as Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain had already qualified by winning Ligue 1.

Due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Shakhtar are playing their European matches away from their home stadium. Last year, their home matches were played in Ljubljana, Slovenia and Krakow, Poland.

BBC Sport understands Shakhtar and Brentford are in talks over potentially hosting their Champions League match in west London.

A Shakhtar official said, “Shakhtar is currently in discussions with a number of venues in the UK 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 rules for hosting Champions League matches and it is understood Uefa will have no problem hosting the event if local authorities allow it.

Brentford are known to rent out their stadium for non-England international friendly matches, World Sevens Football (a women’s seven-a-side tournament) and generally regard this option as an important additional revenue stream.