Chelsea sale: Ricketts family pledge to ‘never participate in Super League’ and redevelop stadium if bid wins

A four-way fight for the west London club is set to be resolved across the coming weeks

(AFP via Getty Images)

The Ricketts family have issued an open letter to Chelsea supporters, listing out eight promises they will keep to if their bid to buy the club is successful.

Those include improbable events such as never changing the club’s colour, crest and name without permission from the fans, but also a commitment to rejecting any new Super League overtures, backing the Women and Academy teams with investment and ensuring that diversity and equality is at the forefront of the club.

A Chelsea Supporters’ Trust statement recently declared they “neither supports nor has confidence in the Ricketts family’s bid for the club,” following backlash over more than one member of the family’s political and social views. Joe Ricketts, who would not be involved at the club or in the bid, called Muslims “my enemy” in an email from 2019. Over 70 per cent of respondents to a CST survey claimed they did not believe the club would be run in an “inclusive and successful” way under the potential ownership.

The Ricketts family have since been engaged in something of a charm offensive to try and overcome those concerns, with Tom Ricketts confirming he had met the Supporters’ Trust and had shared “specific commitments” with them.

Now their statement on some of those issues have been made public, with the statement reading:

“Over the past fortnight, the Ricketts Family has met with several Chelsea supporter groups and carefully listened to all their feedback.

“As we enter the next phase of the process, we are sharing a list of specific commitments that give fans a pivotal role in protecting Chelsea’s heritage and building for future success.

“We will continue to discuss our ambitions for the club with fans and the wider football community in the coming days.

“We will…

• 1. Make no change to the club’s name, badge and crest, or Chelsea blue, without the consent of supporters.
• 2. Never participate in a European Super League and always protect the integrity and heritage of Chelsea F.C.
• 3. Commit the resources necessary across all levels of the club to continue winning trophies, including investing in the first team, experienced football leadership and the Academy.
• 4. Put diversity and inclusion at the heart of the club and fight against any form of discrimination or inequality.
• 5. Create an Advisory Committee with diverse representation to ensure our decisions are informed by: a former men’s and women’s first team player, members of the CST and Chelsea Pitch Owners, and influential community leaders.
• 6. Explore every option to redevelop Stamford Bridge and do everything in our power to keep playing in this historic stadium.
• 7. Match the current commitment to Chelsea F.C. Women and increase the number of women’s matches played at Stamford Bridge.
• 8. Continue the vital charitable work of the Chelsea Foundation, seeking to use the power of football and sport to motivate, educate and inspire.”

Along with the Ricketts family, the three other parties still in the running to buy the club are LA Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and British business titan Jonathan Goldstein, Sir Martin Broughton and Lord Sebastian Coe and finally the Boston Celtics co-owner Stephen Pagliuca.

Current owner Roman Abramovich cannot profit from the sale of the club due to the sanctions imposed on him by the government, with the club now up for sale for just over one month.