Following the sale of the club, Chelsea‘s sponsorship contract with the telecom giant, Three is ready to resume.
The club was sold to Todd Bohely for £4.25 billion, who is also the owner of the American professional baseball team, LA Dodgers.
Hutchison 3G UK Ltd is an English telecommunication and internet service provider company located in Reading, England. It operates under the global brand Three.
Three’s partnership with Chelsea began in 2020. The brand has been the official kit sponsor for both men’s and women’s teams. The deal is worth £40 million per year.
The mobile company opted to sever their relationship with the club following the economic penalties imposed by the UK government. The government restricted all sorts of transactions for the club due to previous owner Roman Abramovich‘s connection with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The club was prohibited from selling tickets, signing contracts, or even operating a club shop.
The company temporarily joined hands with Hyundai following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Three stated, “it’s the right thing to do” as they were in the support of the “No War” campaign organized by the Premier League. After the sale, the government removed all kinds of penalties, thus the sponsorship is all set to resume.
A Chelsea statement read, “Following the sale of Chelsea Football Club we are pleased to confirm that Three are restarting their marketing activities with immediate effect.
“As a result of UK Government sanctions imposed on Chelsea FC’s previous ownership in March, our official shirt partner Three decided to pause their marketing activities with the Club until the impact of the sanctions on the Club ended.”