Chelsea FC Official Size 5 Ball Football VR

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In 2017, under new coach Antonio Conte, Chelsea won their sixth English title and the following season won their eighth FA Cup. From July 2020, Chelsea's sponsor was Three; [223] however, it temporarily suspended its sponsorship in March 2022 in response to sanctions leveled by the UK government against Abramovich.

In October 1905 it hosted a rugby union match between the All Blacks and Middlesex, [95] and in 1914 hosted a baseball match between the touring New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox. Soon after the takeover a decision was taken to drop the "Chelsea Village" brand and refocus on Chelsea as a football club. Chelsea Women 2–1 Arsenal Women: Blues' Beth England scores injury-time winner in League Cup final". In 1986, with Ken Bates owner of the club, Chelsea's crest was changed again as part of another attempt to modernise and because the old rampant lion badge could not be trademarked. Some of these were a consortium led by ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, a group of investors led by the Ricketts family (among them Joe and Pete Ricketts), Swiss and American businessmen Hansjörg Wyss and Todd Boehly, Aethel Partners headed by Portuguese Ricardo Santos Silva and British businessman Nick Candy, supported by former Chelsea striker Gianluca Vialli.

In 2018 Conte was sacked after a fifth-place finish and replaced with Maurizio Sarri, [55] [56] under whom Chelsea reached the League Cup final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester City [57] and won the Europa League for a second time, beating Arsenal 4–1 in the final.

In the 1960s Chelsea manager Tommy Docherty changed the kit again, switching to blue shorts (which have remained ever since) and white socks, believing it made the club's colours more modern and distinctive, since no other major side used that combination; this kit was first worn during the 1964–65 season. In Lampard's first season he guided Chelsea to fourth place in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final, losing 2–1 to Arsenal. The fact that horse racing, the ‘Sport of Kings’ no less, was among the sports that continued unharassed – despite the huge demand for horses on all fronts of the war – suggested there was something the establishment particularly objected to in a sport not of royals, but played by and for a largely young crowd that lacked influence in politics or the media.

However, on 31 May 2018, the club released a statement saying that the new stadium project had been put on hold indefinitely, citing "the current unfavourable investment climate. They also mounted a strong title challenge in 1998–99, finishing four points behind champions Manchester United, and made their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League. They play their home games at Kingsmeadow, formerly the home ground of the EFL League Two club AFC Wimbledon. In his latest Sky Sports column, Paul Merson questions why Mikel Arteta would leave Arsenal for Barca, before dissecting a pivotal midweek round of top-flight games. The club opted against furloughing their non-matchday staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the decision reportedly coming from Abramovich himself.