---
title: "Ukrainian football without a stadium: 'Wisla' closes doors to the national team and 'Shakhtar'"
description: "The Ukrainian national team and 'Shakhtar' are left without a home stadium in Poland. 'Wisla' refused to rent the 'Reymonta' stadium, fearing for the condition of the pitch. The UAF needs to urgently find a new venue for the start of the Nations League. ⚽🇺🇦🏟️"
date: 2026-06-07T11:14:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/visla-refuses-to-rent-stadium-to-ukraine-national-team-and-shakhtar
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Ukrainian football without a stadium: 'Wisla' closes doors to the national team and 'Shakhtar'

![Ukraine national team in yellow and blue jerseys celebrates a goal, but without a stadium: 'Wisła' closed doors to the national team and 'Shakhtar'](https://xab.info/media/2026/06/07/visla-otkazala-sbornoy-ukrainy-i-shakhteru-v-arende-stadiona/visla-otkazala-sbornoy-ukrainy-i-shakhteru-v-arende-stadiona-1.webp)

The Ukrainian national football team is facing a serious infrastructure problem. Just a few months before the start of the new Nations League campaign, which is scheduled to begin in early autumn, the team is left without a confirmed home arena. An official refusal to provide a stadium has come from the management of the Polish club 'Wisla'.

### Polish club refuses to rent

According to RBC-Ukraine, citing the Polish publication KRKNews, negotiations between the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) and the management of Krakow's 'Wisla' have been blocked. The club refused to make its 'Reymonta' (Henryk Reyman) stadium available for international matches of the national team.

The official reason for the refusal lies in the care for their own infrastructure. The 'Wisla' management stated that hosting additional games creates excessive strain on the stadium. According to the club bosses, organizing international matches requires too many resources, time, and financial investment.

### The main fear — the pitch

The key factor influencing the decision was the condition of the football pitch. Representatives of the Polish club expressed serious concern that hosting additional games could lead to a deterioration of the turf quality. At 'Wisla', they fear that intensive use will 'kill' the pitch needed for the team's own needs.

'Wisla' President Jarosław Królewski confirmed this position on his social media. He wrote that the club no longer plans to act as a landlord for Ukrainian teams. This decision came as a surprise blow, considering that last season in the Conference League, Donetsk's 'Shakhtar' successfully played their home matches at this very stadium.

### 'Shakhtar' and the national team in the same boat

The situation regarding the refusal to rent has affected not only the national team. Earlier, it became known that 'Wisla' similarly refused to host home matches for Donetsk's 'Shakhtar' in the Champions League. Thus, both the Ukrainian national team and one of the leaders of Ukrainian football found themselves in an identical situation — both collectives are forced to urgently look for new arenas to host their games.

The UAF has critically little time left to find an alternative. An official decision on the new venue must be made within the coming weeks to make it in time for the start of the tournament.

### Deadlines and tasks

In League B of the 2026/27 Nations League season, the Ukrainian national team must play three home matches. The first is scheduled for October 2. This places a task before the federation on a tight schedule: to find a stadium meeting UEFA requirements and ensure logistics for the team and fans in a short time.