Alexis Ohanian’s £20m investment in Chelsea Women hailed as ‘great respect’ | OneFootball

Sonia Bompastor has described the £20m investment of the Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in Chelsea Women as “a gamechanging investment for the women’s game” before their FA Cup final against Manchester United on Sunday, at which the new minority owner will be in attendance.

“We speak about the investment but it is also the values underpinning it,” the Chelsea manager said of the move by the husband of the tennis great Serena Williams, the winner of 23 grand slam singles titles. “That’s really important for the women’s game but also for the game in England. It shows we are in a really great place at the moment.

“He has shown from the beginning the respect he has for this club and this team. That means a lot because this respect is something that is really important. I’m really excited and can’t wait to meet him in person – hopefully after a really positive result. Hopefully I meet all his family and get my kids to play tennis. My oldest one loves tennis, hopefully we can arrange something together.”

Chelsea head into the FA Cup final on Sunday against the holders having already won the League Cup and the WSL title after an unbeaten domestic campaign. Only the Champions League has eluded them, an 8-2 defeat to Barcelona over two legs in the semi-finals denying them a shot at a quadruple.

Bompastor believes the new investment, constituting a stake of about 10% in the club, will be “a big help” with Chelsea’s European ambitions. “The club already had a lot of success but we want to make sure we are in a position to compete for the Champions League. This year we couldn’t and I take the responsibility for that. Hopefully next year we’ll be in a better position but having this exciting news and this great investment in the women’s team will help for sure.”

The Chelsea manager also feels that someone with Ohanian’s financial and political weight backing women’s football and Chelsea will help in recruitment. “It’s really important,” she said. “When I have players on my phone, trying to recruit them, I always make sure I talk about what we want to do on the pitch, but I spend as much time talking about them as a person because it’s really important when you are going to spend so much time together. We spend more time together than sometimes we do with our own loved ones.

“That’s why it’s really important that you feel like a family, for the positive moments, but also the low moments. It’s the values that matter for that. We talk a lot about money, money in life is important for sure, but the cornerstone, the foundation, for me, are the memories I have about what I was able to share with my teammates and staff rather than how much I was earning as a player or as a manager.”

Header image: [Photograph: Harriet Lander/Chelsea FC/Getty Images]