SHAKHTAR DONETSK have confirmed they will play their Champions League home games more than 2,400 kilometers from their own stadium.
The Ukrainian giants will be welcomed to the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, next season.
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Schalke’s stadium is currently one of those selected for Euro 2024.
The club confirmed the decision on social media.
He wrote: “Our new home for the European Cup.
“Shakhtar will play their Champions League home games of the 2024/25 season in Gelsenkirchen at the Veltins-Arena.”
Club CEO Serhii Palkin praised the agreement and argued that the decision was taken due to the club’s support in the country.
He said: “We are happy to hold our UEFA Champions League games in one of the best stadiums in Germany.
“The positive experience of last season shows that Shakhtar has strong support from fans in this country – both local residents and Ukrainian refugees.
“This factor is of great importance for our club.
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“We thank the Schalke 04 administration and the city of Gelsenkirchen for their solidarity and do not doubt the mutually beneficial cooperation.
“We are looking forward to the UEFA Champions League games.”
The move to the Veltins-Arena is 1,582 miles from the club’s original home.
Shakhtar have not played at their home stadium in Donetsk for a decade.
The abandoned Donbass Arena was Shakhtar’s former home ground, but was damaged by artillery shelling in August 2014 and has not been used since.
Two months later, more artillery shelling damaged the 52,000-seat stadium, but this time it was to a much worse extent.
Both the east and west sides were caught in the crossfire, causing at least one large pane of glass to fall and nearly hit a young woman.
And there would be more damage years later, when the stadium’s infrastructure was hit once again in March 2022.
Due to years of neglect, the place has fallen into a state of woeful decline, both inside and out.
Since 2014, Shakhtar has played at the Olympiyskiy Stadium in Kiev.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
