Shakhtar Donetsk will play its matches in the 2024/25 Champions League in Gelsenkirchen. The second-division club, which recently hosted the European Championship several times, will receive around two million euros for four matches (new Champions League mode)
Five and a half years after the last Champions League match in Gelsenkirchen, the anthem of the premier class will once again ring out in the arena. Shakhtar Donetsk are renting the second-division club’s venue for an initial four matches (new CL mode) at a cost of around two million euros.
This is roughly the same amount that the heavily indebted club already receives for hosting four European Championship matches. In recent weeks, the ground has been firmly in UEFA hands, with Schalke hosting Italy against Spain (0:1), England against Serbia (1:0) and Georgia against Portugal (2:0) in the group stage, while England also qualified for the quarter-finals against Slovakia last Sunday with a 2:1 n.V. draw.
Because the Ukrainian champions and cup winners cannot play their matches in their own stadium in the 2024/2025 season due to the Russian war of aggression (in the previous season, Donetsk played in Hamburg’s Volkspark), FC Schalke 04 will take on the role of host. The Ukrainians will play all Champions League matches in the stadium, both in the first new league phase as well as possible later encounters
Which teams are still coming to Gelsenkirchen? Draw at the end of August
The games in the league phase will take place on a total of eight match days between September and January. The opponents that coach Marino Pusic’s team will face will be drawn on August 29. The Nordkurve, otherwise the epicenter of the S04 fans, will become the fan stand for the Shakhtar supporters.
“We are very pleased about the cooperation,” says Schalke’s CEO Matthias Tillmann. “We are proud to be able to support Shakhtar Donetsk and make our stadium available as a venue for matches in the top flight. In addition, the tenancy also offers added value for our club at an economic level. Overall, this creates a win-win situation for both clubs. “
Last CL match five and a half years ago
The last time the Champions League anthem was played in the Schalke Arena was in February 2019. Back then, Manchester City were the guests in the round of 16. The Royal Blues led 2:1 after two penalty goals from Nabil Bentaleb, but ultimately lost 3:2. The Royal Blues then went down 7-0 in the second leg in England on March 12.
