Shakhtar Donetsk, champions of Ukraine last season, will play their “home” Champions League group stage matches at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, northern Germany, the club said in a statement. , Friday.
After the start of the war of invasion of Ukraine launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, Shakhtar Donetsk played its “home” matches of the European season 2022/23 in Warsaw, on the lawn of Legia. “First, we would like to thank Warsaw and the Polish people for their support that they showed us during the European Cup matches,” said Dmytro Kyrylenko, commercial director of the Ukrainian club, quoted in the press release.
“We are sure that the matches in the Volksparkstadion will take place at the highest level, with local football fans, but also thousands of Ukrainians temporarily living in Germany and other European countries for the time being,” said he added.
In a Warsaw stadium that can hold 31,800 spectators, Shakhtar’s three Champions League group stage matches against Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Celtic drew an average of more than 25,000 spectators.
The Ukrainian club also played two Europa League matches against Rennes (play-offs) and Feyenoord Rotterdam (round of 16).
Home of HSV, a historic club in German football currently in the 2nd division, the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg has a capacity of more than 50,000 seats. Last season, HSV turned on an average of 53,500 spectators. The stadium will host European Championship matches in the summer of 2024 (June 14-July 14).
