Cliff Notes – Chelsea WFC will evolve into billion pound franchise
- Alexis Ohanian envisions Chelsea as “America’s team” and predicts the club will evolve into a billion-dollar franchise in the future.
- Following Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Manchester United in the women’s FA Cup final, Ohanian expressed confidence in the team’s unique status in global soccer.
- Ohanian, who recently acquired a 10% stake in Chelsea, has prior experience in women’s soccer, having been the largest shareholder of Angel City FC.
Chelsea WFC will evolve into billion pound franchise
Alexis Ohanian said Chelsea can be “America’s team” and backed the club to become “a billion-dollar franchise one day.”
Speaking after watching Sonia Bompastor’s side win the women’s FA Cup final at Wembley by beating Manchester United 3-0, Reddit co-founder Ohanian, who bought a 10% stake in Chelsea last week for £20 million ($26.52 million), talked up the team.
“Chelsea is very unique. These are the queens of global soccer and they’ve got the trophy case to prove it,” Ohanian told the BBC in an interview from Wembley, where he watched the game alongside his wife, tennis legend Serena Williams.
“This will be a billion-dollar franchise one day, and I hope my dollars, my pounds, can go towards that and especially back home in America, this is going to be America’s team.”
The 42-year-old has been involved in women’s soccer before and was the largest shareholder of Angel City FC, which he helped launch to great fanfare in 2020 before it was sold for $250 million in 2024.
With the victory, Chelsea finished the domestic season unbeaten, winning the League Cup final against Manchester City and triumphing in the Women’s Super League for the sixth successive year.
However, they failed in their bid for Champions League glory, losing 8-2 on aggregate to Barcelona in the semifinal.