Premier League Fans Fund: Chelsea helping to grow the women's game

For the last two seasons, the Premier League Fans Fund, funded by the Premier League through the Premier League Charitable Fund, has given clubs across England and Wales the opportunity to run a wide variety of programmes that strengthen connections between them, their fans and local communities.​

There are 96 clubs from the Premier League, English Football League, National League, Women's Super League and Women's Championship who are now using this funding to engage with their supporters.

As we mark International Women's Day on 8 March, we take a look at how one Premier League Fans Fund project is aiming to grow and diversify the fanbase for the Chelsea FC Women's team.

'We Are Chelsea' Youth Supporters Group (Chelsea)

Chelsea FC Women have been the dominant team of the Women's Super League (WSL) era. They have claimed seven of the last nine WSL titles and are currently leading the table as they search for their sixth title in a row.

And the Chelsea Foundation are using this success to inspire secondary school pupils to learn about the history of the women's game, the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion as well as giving them the opportunity to make a positive difference to their local community.

Sophie Ingle visits the 'We Are Chelsea' Youth Supporters Group

"For us as a club, equality, diversity and inclusion is massive," says Victor Odeyemi, Senior Schools Education Officer at the Chelsea Foundation. "It applies to everyone.

"We have a sport where, in general, diversity shows on the pitch but doesn't necessarily show everywhere else. It's allowing children as early as possible to know and understand that football is for everyone, regardless of your background, experience or religion.

"The women's game is growing and we're trying to build a local fanbase. We want to make sure that people are aware of matches taking place, that they feel included and comfortable going to games."

The project has initially involved six schools with links to the Chelsea Foundation, three surrounding the club's Stamford Bridge home and three near Kingsmeadow Stadium in Kingston, south west London, where Chelsea FC Women play most of their matches.

More than 200 Year 9 students from these schools were tasked with stepping into the shoes of an equality, diversity and inclusion lead to come up with ideas to diversify and increase the support of the women's team.

Each school selected a winning group to attend a special day at Stamford Bridge where they presented their ideas to a judging panel made up of various Chelsea officials, including Tracy Brown, Fan Advisory Board Co-Chair and Chair of Chelsea Pride.

The students who attended the event at Stamford Bridge were then invited to be members of the first Chelsea FC Women Youth Supporters Group, which allows them to develop their proposals and feed them directly into the club.

"We wanted to make sure that these young people have a voice because ultimately it's going to be their game," Victor says. "They're going to be ones watching and championing it so it's only right that they also have a say as to what the game should look like or how we attract more people like them.

"Children are creative and this is a different set of eyes looking at the issue. The young people didn't have to be Chelsea fans to be a part of this, it's about their locality and understanding how the club can help their local community."

The young people created 37 presentations in total and included ideas such as a sensory room, an activities pack to celebrate International Women's Football Day on 23 May and a monthly news video.

"The ideas and the presentations have been amazing," Victor says. "Presenting in front of a group of people is hard enough but presenting in a suite at Chelsea FC, these are life skills and that they will be able to take away with them.

"With the timeframe we have, the young people know we can't act on everything but the ideas are still suggested to the club for possible use in the future. The participants are just happy that they're in a space where they can speak and be heard.

"The young people and their parents are really enthusiastic about it and we're now getting to the point where their ideas will start to come to life."

The We Are Chelsea pilot has only been running since last Spring but having that ability to inform and influence decisions at a club such as Chelsea is having a much wider impact than what can be seen in the classroom.

"This has made the participants feel empowered," Victor says. "They feel like they're actually part of it, that they have ownership. When we started some of the young people were very quiet but over time I have seen them grow and develop.

"This project is reaching a lot more people then we probably accounted for, which is lovely. We now have grandmas, mums and dads going to matches because their child has been involved; a sister of one of the participants wants to be in the group when she reaches Year 9; there are participants from different schools who are now friends because of this project.

"All of a sudden we are growing and growing. It's massive for us."

The Chelsea project is just one example of how the Premier League Fans Fund can be adapted by clubs to address an issue or need in their local area. These projects can vary from delivery in care homes to engaging with under-represented communities.

"I love how open this project is," Victor says. "We have creative licence as a club to come up with something that we think genuinely appeals to our fanbase.

"Seeing how engaged the young people have been has been really good. I don't usually work with secondary school pupils but as with anyone, they will want to be involved in something if it engages them. That's what we've been able to do with this project. It's been brilliant."