What’s next for Chelsea Women? Owner Alexis Ohanian hints at next major step
Chelsea Women owner Alexis Ohanian has hinted that the club are working towards another significant development, suggesting it could set a new standard for women’s football.
Ohanian, who invested a reported £20 million in Chelsea Women in May 2025, was speaking about the club’s ambitions after seeing the team begin playing their home matches at Stamford Bridge this season.
He wants Chelsea to continue to be a global leader in women’s football, with exciting plans on the horizon.
Latest Videos FromFourFourTwo
Ohanian teases major Chelsea development
Asked what the next major area for improvement would be after fulfilling the players’ desire to play at the Bridge, Ohanian revealed there is already something in the pipeline.
“There’s one that I’m not allowed to talk about yet,” he said, speaking at sports industry conference Leaders Week London at Stamford Bridge
The American businessman, who also co-founded Reddit and invested in NWSL side Angel City FC, suggested the plans would be driven by the needs of the players.
“The part that makes me so inspired to work with folks here is they are so embedded in making sure and so committed to making sure that this club is phenomenal,” he added. “And the way you do that is by listening to the players. We’ve got a board meeting coming up, so hopefully there’ll be some news coming out of it.”
Asked whether he could offer a further hint, Ohanian suggested the development could have significance beyond Chelsea.
“Chelsea has always wanted to set a standard. That’s what I love about coming into a club like this,” he said.
“And this will be yet another one that I think, not just for English women’s football, but for women’s football, will be an important one that needs to happen. That I know the players will be happy about.”
Stamford Bridge the ‘number one thing’ players wanted
Ohanian’s comments come after Chelsea Women began playing their home league matches at Stamford Bridge this season, a move he said had been a major request from the players.
“When I spoke to the players early into coming over, the number one thing they were asking for was to play at the Bridge,” he said.
“So the team got that done here this season, which has been awesome to see, and we’ve just got to keep building.”
Growing matchday audiences
Ohanian, married to 23-time tennis Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, highlighted the importance of growing the matchday audience, pointing to his experience with Angel City in the United States.
The NWSL club played in a 22,000-capacity stadium during their first season, averaging around 21,000 spectators, according to Ohanian.
“People expected women’s sports fans to be the same people as men’s sports fans, and they’re just not,” he said.
“It’s a totally different audience. The overlap we had with the MLS team that we shared the stadium with was insignificant. It was five to 10 per cent. It’s a totally different canvas.
“It’s not just saying, ‘Hey, existing fans of the men’s team, come watch these women play’, which is great if you want to do that too, but also who are the new fans that are now ready to be engaged?”
Chelsea have already introduced fan activations, including bottomless brunches, as they look to grow their audience at Stamford Bridge.
Ohanian also believes the wider Women’s Super League can continue to develop as more clubs prioritise their women’s teams.
“The more and more we see more teams investing in the women’s side, the more they’ll start to change the sort of motion around it,” he said.
For Ohanian, Chelsea’s location in London, their history of success and their global brand were all major attractions when he became involved with the club. He hopes Chelsea can also become a leading WSL team for supporters back home in the United States.
“I envisioned a women’s football fan in America to have their NWSL club, hopefully Angel City, but have their WSL club and have it be Chelsea.”
