Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk to play Champions League in Gelsenkirchen / Photo: © AFP
-
Russell finds himself again and prepares to heap pressure on Antonelli
-
Giant statue of Pope Leo XIV takes shape in Peru workshop
-
South Korea hold nerve to win Asian Games basketball gold
-
Ukraine crush holders Italy to reach first BJK Cup final
-
Russell holds off Verstappen to claim imperious victory in Baku
-
Pope celebrates giant Paris mass in landmark visit
-
Russell holds off Verstappen to win Azerbaijan Grand Prix
-
Germany selects Munich for Olympics host bid
-
India's Kohli says 2027 ODI World Cup will be his last
-
Sagnol sacked as Georgia boss after Nations League upset
-
Huge crowds cheer Pope Leo along Champs-Elysees ahead of Paris mass
-
Man City could face 'drastic' sanctions after reported guilty verdict: ex-chairman
-
Putellas wants to bring 'winning culture and mentality' to London City
-
Furious Fury says row between rival promoters could scupper Joshua bout
-
Rare Italian opera returns to Moscow after nearly 120-year hiatus
-
'Invincible' 223cm teen basketball player stars as China win bronze
-
Pope to celebrate giant Paris mass after 'peace' appeal
-
Tenth woman found dead in South Africa's string of killings
-
Homes flooded, roads submerged: Bangkok declares disaster over heavy rains
-
Japan schoolboy, 11, wins gold while empty seats blight Asian Games
-
Ahead of Paris mass, pope urges life together in 'dignity and peace'
-
Japan organisers 'not satisfied' as empty seats blight Asian Games
-
Austria 'ghetto' language classes leave children to repeat school
-
Canals full, roads submerged as Bangkok declares flood disaster
-
S.African women runners arm themselves after string of killings
-
China, US to open AI 'communication channel' after summit
-
'I felt embarrassed': Japan eSports whizz-kid, 11, wins Games gold
-
Nepal tunnel survivor wants to help post-flood rebuild
-
Indonesia fires threatens critically-endangered orangutan: IUCN
-
New China sprint star, 17, vows 'no limits' after Asian Games gold
-
Bangkok declares flood disaster across city
-
Japanese 11-year-old wins Asian Games eSports gold
-
'World records not enough': North Korea weightlifters target Olympic gold rush
-
TikTok agrees to teen limits in US settlement following Meta
-
Iran proposes Hormuz plan, Trump reportedly refuses
-
Venezuela's oil cradle pins hopes on US energy deals
-
El Nino rewrites the menu in the world's top restaurants
-
US, China buy time with trade truce as pressure builds
-
Pope to hold giant mass on Champs-Elysees
-
'Leo, Leo': Young Catholics give pope rockstar welcome in France
-
TikTok to pay Alabama $100 mn under pre-trial settlement
-
Lula bans sports betting days ahead of Brazil's election
-
Internationals take 7-3 Presidents Cup lead after foursomes sweep
-
Guatemala ensures survival of vulnerable 'fossil' fish
-
Brazil team returns to Colombian site of doomed jet crash
-
Mancini finds positives in Italy loss, accepts fans' jeers
-
Mbappe injured as Zidane wins on France debut, Italy lose on Mancini return
-
Alcaraz helps Europe into Laver Cup lead
-
Senegal draw in Vieira debut, Nigeria survive scare as Cape Verde crash
-
Six missing after building collapses in historic Athens district
Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk to play Champions League in Gelsenkirchen
Ukrainian football side Shakhtar Donetsk announced Tuesday they will play next season's Champions League games in Gelsenkirchen, home of German team Schalke, the next stop in the club's exile from their war-torn country.
Shakhtar were forced to leave their home ground, the Donbas Arena in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, after Russian-backed separatists seized control of the region in 2014.
After Russia's full-scale invasion, Shakhtar took their European fixtures to Poland in the 2022-23 season, but with Legia Warsaw qualifying for Europe in 2023-24, the Ukrainian club played at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion.
Schalke, a seven-time German champion, last played in the Champions League as recently as 2018-19 but currently play in the second division, having been relegated at the end of the 2020-21 season.
According to the new Champions League format, the Ukrainian side will play four group stage matches at Gelsenkirchen's Veltins Arena, which was also one of 10 host cities at Euro 2024 in Germany, along with their knockout games should they qualify.
Club boss Sergei Palkin told AFP in November that Hamburg and Germany "had made us feel very welcome", with the club attracting more than 45,000 fans for each of their matches against Barcelona, Porto and Antwerp.
The German Federal Office for Migration estimates that more than one million refugees have fled Ukraine for Germany since February 2022.
K.Thomson--BTB
