Chelsea

**Chelsea Football Club** (/ˈtʃɛlsiː/) is a professional football club based in London, England that competes in the Premier League, of which they are reigning champions. Founded in 1905, the club's home ground since then has been Stamford Bridge.[4]

Chelsea have only had one home ground, Stamford Bridge, where they have played since the team's foundation. It was officially opened on 28 April 1877 and for the first 28 years of its existence it was used almost exclusively by the London Athletic Club as an arena for athletics meetings and not at all for football. In 1904 the ground was acquired by businessman Gus Mears and his brother Joseph, who had also purchased nearby land (formerly a large market garden) with the aim of staging football matches on the now 12.5 acre (51,000 m²) site.[39] Stamford Bridge was designed for the Mears family by the noted football architect Archibald Leitch, who had also designed Ibrox, Craven Cottage and Hampden Park.[40] Most football clubs were founded first, and then sought grounds in which to play, but Chelsea were founded for Stamford Bridge.

## Crest and colours

### **Crest**

Chelsea have had four main crests, which all underwent minor variations. The first, adopted when the club was founded, was the image of a Chelsea pensioner, the army veterans who reside at the nearby Royal Hospital Chelsea. This contributed to the club's original "pensioner" nickname, and remained for the next half-century, though it never appeared on the shirts. When Ted Drake became Chelsea manager in 1952, he began to modernise the club. Believing the Chelsea pensioner crest to be old-fashioned, he insisted that it be replaced.[66] A stop-gap badge which comprised the initials C.F.C. was adopted for a year. In 1953, the club crest was changed to an upright blue lion looking backwards and holding a staff. It was based on elements in the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea[67] with the "lion rampant regardant" taken from the arms of then club president Viscount Chelsea and the staff from the Abbots of Westminster, former Lords of the Manor of Chelsea. It also featured three red roses, to represent England, and two footballs.[66] This was the first Chelsea crest to appear on the shirts, in the early 1960s.

In 1986, with Ken Bates now owner of the club, Chelsea's crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise and because the old rampant lion badge could not be trademarked.[68] The new badge featured a more naturalistic non-heraldic lion, in white and not blue, standing over the C.F.C. initials. This lasted for the next 19 years, with some modifications such as the use of different colours, including red from 1987 to 1995, and yellow from 1995 until 1999, before the white returned.[69] With the new ownership of Roman Abramovich, and the club's centenary approaching, combined with demands from fans for the popular 1950s badge to be restored, it was decided that the crest should be changed again in 2005. The new crest was officially adopted for the start of the 2005–06 season and marked a return to the older design, used from 1953 to 1986, featuring a blue heraldic lion holding a staff. For the centenary season this was accompanied by the words '100 YEARS' and 'CENTENARY 2005–2006' on the top and bottom of the crest respectively.[9]

### **Colours**

Chelsea have always worn blue shirts, although they originally used the paler eton blue, which was taken from the racing colours of then club president, Earl Cadogan, and was worn with white shorts and dark blue or black socks.[70] The light blue shirts were replaced by a royal blue version in around 1912.[71] In the 1960s Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty changed the kit again, switching to blue shorts (which have remained ever since) and white socks, believing it made the club's colours more modern and distinctive, since no other major side used that combination; this kit was first worn during the 1964–65 season.[72]Since then Chelsea have always worn white socks with their home kit apart from a short spell from 1985 to 1992, when blue socks were reintroduced.

Chelsea's away colours are usually all yellow or all white with blue trim. More recently, the club have had a number of black or dark blue away kits.[73] As with most teams, they have also had some more unusual ones. At Docherty's behest, in the 1966 FA Cup semi-final they wore blue and black stripes, based on Inter Milan's kit.[74] In the mid-1970s, the away strip was a red, white and green kit inspired by the Hungarian national side of the 1950s.[75] Other memorable away kits include an all jade strip worn from 1986–89, red and white diamonds from 1990–92, graphite and tangerine from 1994–96, and luminous yellow from 2007–08.[73] The graphite and tangerine strip often appears in lists of the worst football kits ever.[76][77]

## Support

Chelsea are among the most widely supported football clubs in the world.[78][79] They have the sixth highest average all-time attendance in English football[10] and regularly attract over 40,000 fans to Stamford Bridge; they were the seventh best-supported Premier Leagueteam in the 2013–14 season, with an average gate of 41,572.[11] Chelsea's traditional fanbase comes from all over the Greater Londonarea including working-class parts such as Hammersmith and Battersea, wealthier areas like Chelsea and Kensington, and from the home counties. There are also numerous official supporters clubs in the United Kingdom and all over the world.[80] Between 2007 and 2012, Chelsea were ranked fourth worldwide in annual replica kit sales, with an average of 910,000.[81] Chelsea's official Twitter account has 6.29 million followers, the fifth highest among football clubs.[82]

At matches, Chelsea fans sing chants such as "Carefree" (to the tune of "Lord of the Dance", whose lyrics were probably written by supporter Mick Greenaway[83][84]), "Ten Men Went to Mow", "We All Follow the Chelsea" (to the tune of "Land of Hope and Glory"), "Zigga Zagga", and the celebratory "Celery", with the latter often resulting in fans ritually throwing celery. The vegetable was banned inside Stamford Bridge after an incident involving Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fàbregas at the 2007 League Cup Final.[85]

During the 1970s and 1980s in particular, Chelsea supporters were associated with football hooliganism. The club's "football firm", originally known as the Chelsea Shed Boys, and subsequently as the Chelsea Headhunters, were nationally notorious for football violence, alongside hooligan firms from other clubs such as West Ham United's Inter City Firm and Millwall's Bushwackers, before, during and after matches.[86] The increase of hooligan incidents in the 1980s led chairman Ken Bates to propose erecting an electric fence to deter them from invading the pitch, a proposal that the Greater London Council rejected.[87]

Since the 1990s, there has been a marked decline in crowd trouble at matches, as a result of stricter policing, CCTV in grounds and the advent of all-seater stadia.[88] In 2007, the club launched the 'Back to the Shed' campaign to improve the atmosphere at home matches, with notable success. According to Home Office statistics, 126 Chelsea fans were arrested for football-related offences during the 2009–10 season, the third highest in the division, and 27 banning orders were issued, the fifth-highest in the division.[89]

## Ownership and finances

Chelsea Football Club were founded by Gus Mears in 1905. After his death in 1912, his descendents continued to own the club until 1982, when Ken Bates bought the club from Mears' great-nephew Brian Mears for £1. Bates bought a controlling stake in the club and floated Chelsea on the AIM stock exchange in March 1996.[125] In July 2003, Roman Abramovich purchased just over 50% of Chelsea Village plc's share capital, including Bates' 29.5% stake, for £30 million and over the following weeks bought out most of the remaining 12,000 shareholders at 35 pence per share, completing a £140 million takeover. Other shareholders at the time of the takeover included the Matthew Harding estate (21%), BSkyB (9.9%) and various anonymous offshore trusts.[126] After passing the 90% share threshold, Abramovich took the club back into private hands, delisting it from the AIM on 22 August 2003. He also took on responsibility for the club's debt of £80 million, quickly paying most of it.[127]

Thereafter, Abramovich changed the ownership name to Chelsea FC plc, whose ultimate parent company is Fordstam Limited, which is controlled by him.[128] Chelsea are additionally funded by Abramovich via interest free soft loans channelled through his holding company Fordstam Limited. The loans stood at £709 million in December 2009, when they were all converted to equity by Abramovich, leaving the club themselves debt free,[129][130] although the debt remains with Fordstam.[131] Since 2008 the club have had no external debt.[132]

Chelsea did not turn a profit in the first nine years of Abramovich's ownership, and made record losses of £140m in June 2005.[133] In November 2012, Chelsea announced a profit of £1.4 million for the year ending 30 June 2012, the first time the club had made a profit under Abramovich's ownership.[133][134] This was followed by a loss in 2013 and then their highest ever profit of £18.4 million for the year to June 2014.[135]

Chelsea have been described as a global brand; a 2012 report by Brand Finance ranked Chelsea fifth among football brands and valued the club's brand value at US$398 million – an increase of 27% from the previous year, also valuing them at US$10 million more than the sixth best brand, London rivals Arsenal – and gave the brand a strength rating of AA (very strong).[136][137] In 2016, *Forbes* magazine ranked Chelsea the seventh most valuable football club in the world, at £1.15 billion ($1.66 billion).[13] As of 2016, Chelsea are ranked eighth in the Deloitte Football Money League with an annual commercial revenue of £322.59 million.[138]

### **Sponsorship**

Chelsea's kit has been manufactured by Nike since July 2017. Previously, the kit was manufactured by Adidas, which was originally contracted to supply the club's kit from 2006 to 2018. The partnership was extended in October 2010 in a deal worth £160 million over eight years.[139] This deal was again extended in June 2013 in a deal worth £300 million over another ten years.[140][141] In May 2016, Adidas announced that by mutual agreement, the kit sponsorship would end six years early on 30 June 2017.[142] Chelsea had to pay £40m in compensation to Adidas. In October 2016, Nike was announced as the new kit sponsor, in a deal worth £900m over 15 years, until 2032.[143]Previously, the kit was manufactured by Umbro (1975–81), Le Coq Sportif (1981–86), The Chelsea Collection (1986–87), Umbro (1987–2006), and Adidas (2006–2017).

Chelsea's first shirt sponsor was Gulf Air, agreed during the 1983–84 season. The club were then sponsored by Grange Farms, Bai Lin Teaand Simod before a long-term deal was signed with Commodore International in 1989; Amiga, an offshoot of Commodore, also appeared on the shirts. Chelsea were subsequently sponsored by Coors beer (1994–97), Autoglass (1997–2001), Emirates (2001–05), Samsung Mobile (2005–08) and Samsung (2008–15).[144][145] Chelsea's current shirt sponsor is the Yokohama Rubber Company. Worth £40 million per year, the deal is second in English football to Chevrolet's £50 million-per-year sponsorship of Manchester United.[144]

The club has a variety of other sponsors, which include Gazprom,[146] Delta Air Lines,[147] Sauber, Audi, Singha, EA Sports, Dolce & Gabbana,[148] Barbados Tourism Authority, Atlas, AZIMUT Hotels, BNI, Indosat, Vietinbank, Nitto Tire, Orico, Guangzhou R&F, Coca-Cola, Grand Royal, Digicel, Lucozade Sport, and Viagogo.[149]

## Popular culture

In 1930, Chelsea featured in one of the earliest football films, *The Great Game*.[150] One-time Chelsea centre forward, Jack Cock, who by then was playing for Millwall, was the star of the film and several scenes were shot at Stamford Bridge, including the pitch, the boardroom, and the dressing rooms. It included guest appearances by then-Chelsea players Andrew Wilson, George Mills, and Sam Millington.[151] Owing to the notoriety of the Chelsea Headhunters, a football firm associated with the club, Chelsea have also featured in films about football hooliganism, including 2004's *The Football Factory*.[152] Chelsea also appear in the Hindi film *Jhoom Barabar Jhoom*.[153] In April 2011, Montenegrin comedy series *Nijesmo mi od juče* made an episode in which Chelsea play against FK Sutjeska Nikšić for qualification of the UEFA Champions League.[154]

Up until the 1950s, the club had a long-running association with the music halls; their underachievement often provided material for comedians such as George Robey.[155] It culminated in comedian Norman Long's release of a comic song in 1933, ironically titled "On the Day That Chelsea Went and Won the Cup", the lyrics of which describe a series of bizarre and improbable occurrences on the hypothetical day when Chelsea finally won a trophy.[18] In Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film *The 39 Steps*, Mr Memory claims that Chelsea last won the Cup in 63 BC, "in the presence of the Emperor Nero."[156] Scenes in a 1980 episode of *Minder* were filmed during a real match at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Preston North End with Terry McCann (played by Dennis Waterman) standing on the terraces.[157]

The song "Blue is the Colour" was released as a single in the build-up to the 1972 League Cup Final, with all members of Chelsea's first team squad singing; it reached number five in the UK Singles Chart.[158] The song has since been adopted as an anthem by a number of other sports teams around the world, including the Vancouver Whitecaps (as "White is the Colour")[159] and the Saskatchewan Roughriders (as "Green is the Colour").[160] In the build-up to the 1997 FA Cup Final, the song "Blue Day", performed by Suggs and members of the Chelsea squad, reached number 22 in the UK charts.[161] Bryan Adams, a fan of Chelsea,[162] dedicated the song "We're Gonna Win" from the album *18 Til I Die* to the club.[163]

## Chelsea Ladies

For more details on this topic, see Chelsea L.F.C..

Chelsea also operate a women's football team, Chelsea Ladies. They have been affiliated to the men's team since 2004[164] and are part of the club's Community Development programme. They play their home games at Wheatsheaf Park, the home ground of Conference South club Staines Town.[165] The club were promoted to the Premier Division for the first time in 2005 as Southern Division champions and won the Surrey County Cup nine times between 2003 and 2013.[166] In 2010 Chelsea Ladies were one of the eight founder members of the FA Women's Super League.[167] In 2015, Chelsea Ladies won the FA Women's Cup for the first time, beating Notts County Ladies at Wembley Stadium,[168] and a month later clinched their first FA WSL title to complete a league and cup double.[169] John Terry, former captain of the Chelsea men's team, is the President of Chelsea Ladies.[170]

## Players

### Current squad

*As of 12 July 2017.*[171]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

### Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

### Out on loan

[172] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

## Honours

### Domestic

#### Leagues

* **First Division/Premier League**[nb 4]

**Winners (6):** 1954–55, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2014–15
* **Second Division**[nb 4]

**Winners (2):** 1983–84, 1988–89
#### Cups

* **FA Cup**

**Winners (7):** 1969–70, 1996–97, 1999–2000, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2011–12
* **Football League Cup**

**Winners (5):** 1964–65, 1997–98, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2014–15
* **FA Community Shield**[nb 5]

**Winners (4):** 1955, 2000, 2005, 2009
#### Minor Cups

* **Full Members Cup**

**Winners (2):** 1985–86, 1989–90
### European

* **UEFA Champions League**

**Winners (1):** 2011–12
* **UEFA Europa League**

**Winners (1):** 2012–13
* **UEFA Cup Winners' Cup**

**Winners (2):** 1970–71, 1997–98
* **UEFA Super Cup**

**Winners (1):** 1998
Source: Chelsea F.C.

### Doubles

* 1997–98: League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup
* 2004–05: League and League Cup
* 2006–07: FA Cup and League Cup
* 2009–10: League and FA Cup
* 2011–12: FA Cup and UEFA Champions League
* 2014–15: League and League Cup