Chelsea FC

About Chelsea FC 

Chelsea Football Club (FC), also known as “The Blues”, is one of the biggest and most-loved football clubs in the Premier League. 

History of Chelsea FC

Chelsea was founded in 1905 by Gus Mears who transformed the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium to become the team’s new home. 

It wasn’t long before Chelsea became a top team in the English league. In the early 1900s, Chelsea gathered a lot of support fans to become one of the biggest clubs. More than 40,000 people would fill the stands to watch their games. 

Their early fame which led to Chelsea tickets selling out during home games gave the team considerable financial ability to invest in big-name players. However, they struggled to win titles and bounced between the first and second divisions for forty years. 

It wasn’t until 1955 when Chelsea won their first league title. This was a shocking victory because Chelsea finished in the bottom half of the league throughout previous seasons. This was a one time victory that died down until the mid-1960s. Chelsea secured the League Cup in 1965 followed by two more “first-time” victories with the FA Cup in 1970 and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1971. 

Period of Struggle

That last title in 1971 would be the last for many years to come. Chelsea faced financial difficulties and was nearly bankrupt in the early 1980s. Their poor performance on the field and massive debt accumulating caused the Mears family to give up the club for a symbolic total of just £1 to its new owner, Ken Bates in 1982. From this transaction, Bates took on the debt totaling £1.5 million.

It still took more than a decade before Chelsea bounced back as a contender in the English league. In 1996, Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola were added to the team, adding new excitement and strategy to the playing field. During this time, Chelsea won 2 FA Cups in 1997 and 2000 and a League cup in 1998. They also won their second Cup Winners’ Cup in 1998 in a nail-biting final between Stuttgart, resulting in a 1-0 final. 

In 2003, Chelsea once again was sold but this time to a Russian billionaire named Roman Abramovich for £140 million. Since his takeover, Chelsea has won 13 trophies which include the UEFA Champions League, two-time winner of the Europa League, a five-time winner of the Premier League, four-time winner of the FA Cup, and three-time winners of the League Cup. This has made Chelsea the second most successful English team to win 15 titles within a decade, following behind Manchester United.