Dynamo Kyiv Will Play Their European Cup Matches in Bucharest, Romania

The most titled team in Ukraine, Dynamo Kyiv, will play their home matches in the UEFA Conference League in the capital of Romania at the Rapid Ghencea Stadium, which accommodates around 14,000 spectators. This decision was insisted upon by Dynamo Kyiv's head coach Mircea Lucescu, according to Gazeta Sporturilor.

"We discussed the situation with the management of Romanian club Rapid and the Ministry of Transport. We will see to what extent this decision will be achieved. I think it will be good for Dynamo. It is much closer to Ukraine and the cities where we will play, compared to last year. We traveled for 6-7 hours from Lodz and Krakow to Lviv, and then the same amount of time to Kyiv. It was very difficult," said Mircea Lucescu.

Last season, Kyiv played their home European Cup matches in the Polish cities of Krakow and Lodz. Currently, besides Bucharest, Kyiv considered several stadiums in Moldova, Poland, and Slovakia.

"Next week, the club will issue an official statement announcing the final decision in this matter," said the press secretary of Dynamo Kyiv.

One of the reasons for changing the home stadium for European competitions is the long journeys. To minimize this factor, in the next season's Ukrainian Championship, Dynamo may play not in Kyiv but in Odesa, which is significantly closer to Bucharest. The decision to temporarily relocate to Odesa is favored by the club's management and head coach Mircea Lucescu, who has grown tired of spending a large part of the season on the road.

Recall that the last season was one of the worst in the history of the Ukrainian Championship for Dynamo Kyiv. The team finished only in fourth place (the second time in the history of independent Ukraine's football competitions), lost their chances for the championship well before the end of the competition, and demonstrated an overall lackluster performance throughout the season. In the European cups, Dynamo Kyiv also had an unsuccessful campaign, failing to advance from the UEFA Europa League group stage and finishing last without a single victory. Many spectators and fans blame head coach Mircea Lucescu and club president Ihor Surkis for the failure. Meanwhile, the Dynamo coaching staff considers logistics issues to be one of the reasons for the team's unsuccessful performances.