This article contains information regarding the organisations enjoying a strong branding presence across Chelsea Football Club’s (CFC) physical and digital assets as their sponsors for the 2022-23 Premier League season.
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PRINCIPAL PARTNERS
Nike
Chelsea signed a long-term deal with Nike in October 2016 as their official kit supplier from the 2017-18 season, ending their eleven-year partnership with Adidas.
The deal, reportedly worth north of US$1bn over 15 years, was Nike’s biggest deal with a Premier League club at the time, before it signed an even more lucrative deal with Liverpool FC in January 2020.
Three
The Reading-headquartered British telecom company was roped in by Chelsea in an initial three-year deal as one of their Principal Partners in January 2020, which has seen Three’s “3” logo emblazoned on the front of the Chelsea matchday shirts since “Project Restart”, which was the name dubbed to the remainder of the 2019-20 Premier League season that was played out after the game had come to a halt due to the first COVID lockdown in the UK.
The deal came at the back of the previous principal sponsor, Yokohama Tyres, taking on a lower-tier partnership with the club.
The current deal with Three ropes in an amount comparable to the £40m in revenue which Chelsea were collecting every year from their previous principal sponsorship deal with Yokohama Tyres. The deal also sees Three oversee 5G signals enabled within Stamford Bridge.
In March 2022, Three reportedly suspended the Chelsea partnership after the club’s then owner, Roman Abramovich, was sanctioned by the UK on the back of Russia invading Ukraine. Three’s branding, however, kept featuring across Chelsea assets—including their matchday shirts. In June 2022, the telecom company confirmed that it had resumed its marketing activities pertaining to its partnership with Chelsea FC after a Todd Boehly-led consortium purchased the club.
trivago
The Amsterdam-headquartered Dutch global accommodation search platform was announced as the Official Training Wear Partner of the club in May 2021, covering the senior and academy teams of both the men’s and women’s sides. trivago’s logo replaced that of Thai energy drink brand Carabao on the front of Chelsea’s training shirts, bibs and coaching staff’s tracksuits.
Apart from branding rights, the deal also includes collaboration over exclusive experience opportunities like player meets, coaching sessions from Chelsea’s trainers, and access to the exclusive trivago suite at Stamford Bridge.
WhaleFin
Crypto-focused digital asset platform Whalefin, offered by Singapore-based Amber Group, was announced as CFC’s matchday-shirt sleeve sponsor in May 2022 in a deal reportedly worth £20 million per year and set to kick off with the start of the 2022-23 season.
This deal was reportedly completed in January earlier that year, before sanctions were placed on the club, and was Chelsea’s first cryptocurrency partnership.
In December 2022, however, Bloomberg reported that WhaleFin had decided to terminate the Chelsea deal prematurely as part of its cost-cutting measures.
OFFICIAL PARTNERS
Cadbury
Chelsea signed a deal with Mondel?z International, owner of the confectionary brand Cadbury, in August 2020, making Cadbury their official chocolate partner.
The deal sees Cadbury provide support to entrepreneurs and small businesses with the help of the Chelsea Foundation’s “Edge of the Box Club” via seminars that cover topics like brand marketing and sales, providing necessary training and connections to help the businesses build their brand.
EA Sports
The company behind the famous football simulation video game series FIFA has maintained an exclusive official partnership with the Blues since 2008. EA holds rights to feature Chelsea’s licensing, that includes real-life likeness of players, kits and stadium, in its annual FIFA release. The two also create co-branded social media content.
GO Markets
The Melbourne, Victoria-headquartered Australian Retail Forex and Contracts for Differences (CFDs) broker has served as the Official Online Trading Partner to the club since October 2020.
Hublot
The Nyon-headquartered Swiss luxury watchmaker has served as Chelsea’s official timekeeper and official watch partner since August 2015. Branding rights aside, the deal sees numerous Hublot clocks installed throughout Stamford Bridge.
In November 2021, CFC extended their partnership with Hublot in a multi-year deal.
Levy Restaurants
Levy UK has been Chelsea’s official catering partner since August 2014, a deal that was extended in May 2019 to run until 2023.
The deal sees Levy provide catering services on matchdays at Stamford Bridge as well as at other Chelsea venues, like their training facility in Cobham, the on-site music venue Under the Bridge, the Chelsea Health Club & Spa, and Frankie’s Sports Bar & Grill.
MSC Cruises
The Geneva-headquartered global cruise line serves as Chelsea’s official global cruise partner since January 2019, a deal that provides the global cruise line access to more clientele and Chelsea’s ambassadors. The deal kicked off in 2019, just a few months before the launch of MSC Bellissima, which was launched in March that year and had Chelsea memorabilia on board with the club’s representatives in attendance for the naming ceremony.
CFC and MSC Cruises renewed their partnership in November 2021. The current agreement between the two is set to run until June 2024.
Parimatch
The Limassol-headquartered sports betting company was announced as an Official Partner of the club in August 2021 on a three-year deal. Apart from branding rights, the deal is set to see Parimatch offer Chelsea fans opportunities to “win prizes and exclusive matchday experiences”.
Parimatch reportedly suspended its partnership with Chelsea in March 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine. However, it retains its place on the Chelsea website as part of their sponsorship portfolio.
Sure (Rexona)
Chelsea have been partners with Rexona, a Unilever-owned deodorant brand that is made available in the UK market under the name “Sure”, since 2017 — a deal that was further extended in August 2018.
Rexona’s parent company Unilever also enjoys a strong association with Chelsea, as the two parties focus on grassroots football initiatives in Africa.
Singha
Singha has been Chelsea’s official beer partner since 2010 and last extended its partnership with the club in July 2019 to run until 2022.
Aside from branding rights, the Thai brewery holds pouring rights inside Stamford Bridge and also engages in Chelsea’s expansion into the southeast Asia market.
Zapp
The UK-based 24/7 grocery delivery startup was announced as the club’s official European on-demand convenience and grocery delivery partner in July 2021 on an initial two-year deal.
Covering the CFC men’s, women’s and academy setups, the deal is set to see the two parties work on co-branded promotional campaigns — “from player activity to exclusive fan opportunities and Zapp football moments”.
OFFICIAL WOMEN’S PARTNERS
Singer Capital Markets
The London-based British investment bank has an exclusive matchday-shorts sponsorship deal in place with Chelsea Women. This ongoing three-year agreement also sees the two parties collaborating over co-branded content featuring the Chelsea Women players and their manager, Emma Hayes.
OTHER PARTNERS
Tempus Ex
San Francisco, California-based Tempus Ex was announced as a Chelsea FC partner in April 2023 as part of a seven-year agreement.
The partnership entails Chelsea implementing Tempus Ex tech, which “enables the creation of new interactive experiences around live events”, across their operations, including “5th Stand app [official club app], digital and mobile fan engagement, in-stadium fan enhancements, and sponsor activations, as well as coaching, training, player health and safety, and match preparation”.
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