Chelsea Supporters’ Trust lay out seven demands for Roman Abramovich’s successor amid uncertainty over club’s future
THE CHELSEA Supporters’ Trust has laid out seven demands to any prospective new owner hoping to buy the club from Roman Abramovich. American investment banking giant Raine are representing Chelsea in the sale of the club. Blues director Marina Granovskaia is also offering interested groups guidance during the process. Russian owner Abramovich put the club […]
THE CHELSEA Supporters’ Trust has laid out seven demands to any prospective new owner hoping to buy the club from Roman Abramovich.
American investment banking giant Raine are representing Chelsea in the sale of the club.
Blues director Marina Granovskaia is also offering interested groups guidance during the process.
Russian owner Abramovich put the club up for sale at the start of March in the wake of his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The sale has been complicated by the government’s decision to place sanctions on Abramovich which stop him doing business in the UK.
High-profile names linked with a Chelsea takeover include British property tycoon Nick Candy, and Turkish billionaire Muhsin Bayrak.
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Saudi Media have reportedly bid £2.7billion for the Stamford Bridge club and want to renovate the ageing stadium.
Headed by Chelsea fan Mohamed Alkhereiji, the private consortium are receiving ‘support in finding funding and backers’ from Mohammed bin Khalid Al Saud.
Khalid Al Saud is chair of the Saudi Telecom Company, which is a state-owned company in which the Public Investment Fund owns shares.
However, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust have released a letter today asking whoever takes over to agree to a number of demands laid out by them.
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It read: “The CST are seeking commitments on a number of fundamental issues from prospective buyers of the club. These include:
- The outstanding balance of the loan from the club to Chelsea Pitch Owners should be forgiven, so that Stamford Bridge is secured by and for Chelsea’s supporters.
“The relevant recommendations of the 2021 Fan-led Review of Football Governance are implemented, namely:
- A golden share for fans to protect key items of club heritage.
- Consultation with supporters through the creation of a democratically elected shadow board.
- A continued support for Chelsea FC Women and Chelsea Academy, both highly successful entities in their own right.
- A commitment from prospective owners to engage in regular, constructive dialogue with supporters on issues of supporter interest, including fair ticketing and stadium development.
- A commitment from prospective owners to continuing and building on the legacy of the Chelsea Foundation’s outstanding community work.
- A guarantee that there will be no attempts to exit existing sporting structures without the engagement of key stakeholders, with supporters at the forefront – this includes the European Super League.”
CHELSEA PITCH OWNERS
Chelsea Pitch Owners PLC holds the freehold of Stamford Bridge stadium and the name Chelsea FC and is a group of over 23,000 individual shareholders.
Ken Bates set it up in 1992 when the Blues entered into an agreement to take on the lease for Stamford Bridge and it included an option to purchase the freehold for £5m.
It was restructured so that the pitch owners could acquire that option for the stadium site but only 7,580 shares had been sold by 1997 as the group was left short of the funds to buy the stadium site.
The club then ended up agreeing a package to lend the Chelsea Pitch Owners the funds to purchase the freehold on soft terms.
In exchange, they offered the club a 199-year lease with a nominal rent, with the group aiming to repay the loan by selling shares.
Former captain John Terry is president of the group while the likes of Marcel Desailly, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Pat Nevin, David Webb and Dennis Wise are also involved in it.
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Meanwhile, the Premier League is hopeful a new buyer for Chelsea can be found soon but that is not easing the uncertainty being felt in every department of the European champions.
There are reportedly as many as 200 investors interested in buying Chelsea amid huge interest in taking the reins at the Premier League giants.
Suitors are reported to have until this Friday’s deadline to submit a ‘detailed background report’ on all of their backers.
And in the new climate of greater scrutiny surrounding ownership of football clubs, interested parties are being asked to outline their ‘motives’ before they enter the bidding process.