Serial entrepreneur and husband to tennis great Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian, recently acquired an 8-10% stake in Chelsea Women worth an estimated £20 million. The Reddit founder believes the Blues will become a “billion-dollar franchise.”
This marks Ohanian’s second investment in women’s football, following his previous role as the largest shareholder in US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise Angel City FC.
The 42-year-old was present at Wembley alongside his wife for the Women’s FA Cup final against Manchester United, which Chelsea won 3-0 to complete the domestic treble without losing a match.
“Chelsea are very unique. These are the queens of global soccer, and they’ve got the trophy case to prove it. They are a very special club,” Ohanian told BBC Sport.
“The sky is the limit,” he continued. “You heard our president say the club are unapologetically ambitious – I want to get that tattooed on me. That is what we’re trying to build here – the best team in the world and at the forefront of women’s sport.”
“This will be a billion-dollar franchise one day. I hope my dollars, my pounds, can go towards that and especially back home in America. This is going to be America’s team.”
Ohanian’s reputation for having the “Midas touch” led Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor to describe his investment as a “game-changing endorsement” for the club.
“It was really nice. When I found out about the news, I was really excited for them to join the club,” Bompastor said. “They were here at Wembley to show their support. You can feel from the beginning they have the right mentality coming into Chelsea.
“This was the best way to welcome them, with this game, this final, and this result. These people are so passionate about women and women’s sport. It’s so nice to have them around, enjoy it, and be with them in these moments.”
While the Blues increasingly dominate the domestic scene, the next frontier is translating that success into European glory. Earlier in the campaign, Barcelona delivered a harsh lesson to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, demolishing the Londoners 8-2 on aggregate.
Insideworldfootball.com
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