So Champions League football will be played at Stamford Bridge this season after all.It has been announced that Chelsea’s ground will be staging Shakhtar Donetsk’s ‘home’ matches during the 2026-27 campaign, subject to regulatory approvals.The Athletic reported last month that the London club had been approached, and then wrote last week that they were expected to be named as the hosts.Now that the arrangement is official, what does it all mean? The Athletic provides some answers…How did this happen and who was involved in the discussions?Shakhtar Donetsk have not been able to play a home game at their stadium, the Donbas Arena, since 2014, after the war with Russia broke out in the region. Donetsk is only 30 miles (48 kilometres) west of the Russian border. Over the previous four years, the Ukrainian club have staged their ‘home’ European matches in Germany, Slovenia and Poland.For the Ukrainian Premier League, they play their home matches at Arena Lviv, in Lviv, which is on the opposite side of Ukraine, around 750 miles west of Donetsk.Last season, Shakhtar started out playing their European games at Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and later used Synerise Arena in Krakow, Poland.Captain Mykola Matviyenko leads Shakhtar onto the pitch in Ljubljana in July 2025 (Jurij Kodrun/Getty Images)Shakhtar, who have qualified for the group phase, wanted to use just one venue for their 2026-27 campaign and the possibility of playing in London was earmarked as a favourable possibility from the outset. Shakhtar will play four home games at Stamford Bridge and four away games during the group phase.Club-to-club discussions with Chelsea have been going on for over a month. Chelsea were not the only London club considered, with Brentford and Fulham also spoken to.Chelsea were deemed to be the preferred option by the beginning of this month, although another site was still in the running last week. Over the past few weeks, it has been a case of going through all the necessary paperwork and legal contracts.Both parties wanted to give themselves as much time as possible, knowing that the first home game could take place on September 8. The play-offs conclude next week before the draw for the league phase takes place on August 27.Why fans are using scarves instead of season ticketsJack MeenanDoes this have anything to do with the Mykhailo Mudryk deal?When Chelsea signed Mudryk from Shakhtar for an initial £62million ($85m) in January 2023, the Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov spoke about playing a friendly against them at the Donbas Arena after the war was over.Mykhailo Mudryk in action against Burnley in 2023 (Matt McNulty/Getty Images)This arrangement is unrelated to the Mudryk transfer, although the strong relationship formed between the two clubs during those negotiations is a factor.