Chelsea and shirt sponsor Three get back on board following sale of club

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By Martin Graham | 17th Jun 2022

Chelsea have announced that their shirt sponsor, Three UK, has gotten back on board with the club after the completion of the takeover of the club by the Boehly-led consortium.

The communications giants suspended their deal with the club after it emerged that former owner Roman Abramovich had ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered his troops to attack neighbouring Ukraine.

Government sanctions followed on the club, forcing the Russian billionaire to sell to Todd Boehly and his partners for 4.2 billion in order to allow them return to normal operations. With the completion of the takeover in late May, things are returning to normal and Three is back on board.

Chelsea released a statement to confirm the current situation with Three which read: “Following the sale of Chelsea Football Club we are pleased to confirm that Three are restarting their marketing activities with immediate effect.

“As a result of UK Government sanctions imposed on Chelsea FC’s previous ownership in March, our official shirt partner Three decided to pause their marketing activities with the Club until the impact of the sanctions on the Club ended.

“Three’s partnership with Chelsea began in 2020 and their logo has been on our shirts during a highly successful period for the Club, with the men’s team winning the Champions League and being crowned world champions, and Chelsea Women securing the domestic quadruple and a league and cup double in that time, as well as reaching the Women’s Champions League final.

“Following the recent pause in their activities, the Club is pleased to have resumed our work with Three and we look forward with excitement to the start of the new season, together.

“We would like to thank all Club partners for their support now and in the future.”

Chelsea sign sponsorship deal with cryptocurrency firm WhaleFin

The club has also signed a sponsorship deal with WhaleFin, a cryptocurrency firm. WhaleFin is a subsidiary of Amber Group, a Hong Kong-based blockchain technology firm.

The takeover of the club by the Boehly-led consortium has led to a lot more open doors as promised by the American billionaire. WhaleFin is one of those opportunities, with more on the way, per inside sources at the club.

The deal with WhaleFin is worth £20 million per year per year for Chelsea. The club’s CEO Guy Lawrence confirmed the deal with a statement which reads: “This is a hugely exciting partnership for the club, which aligns us with one of the most advanced digital asset companies in the world.

“As Amber Group continue to expand coverage of their platform globally, they will now have the ability to not only speak to the hundreds of millions of loyal Chelsea fans around the globe but also be seen by the billions who tune into the Premier League each season.”

Amber Group CEO, Michael Wu also threw more light on the deal. “Our partnership with Chelsea FC is a watershed moment as we embark on the next stage of our growth globally,” Wu said. “With the beautiful game’s ability to rally a global audience regardless of culture, language and nationality, we are excited to showcase the full potential of digital assets to an international audience.”