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Chelsea FC
Chelsea Football Club was founded in 1905 and is based at Stamford Bridge football ground in Fulham, West London. Stamford Bridge has a capacity of 40,834 and it is the only home ground that the team has had since its foundation. The club competes in the Premier League, which is the top division of English football, and is regarded as one of the most successful clubs in the country. Chelsea F.C. is owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who purchased the club for £140 million in 2003.
⚽History
Gus Mears purchased Stamford Bridge in 1904 with the intention of turning it into a football ground and decided to also start his own club to use it. A team by the name of Fulham already existed so Chelsea, which was the name of the neighbouring borough was selected instead and the club founded in 1905.
Shortly after Chelsea’s foundation, the team was elected to the Football League, and won promotion to the first division in their second season. During the club’s early years, they regularly swung between first and second division before reaching the FA Cup Final in 1915. The team then managed to remain in the first division up until the 1930s, but the inter-war years that followed hindered the club’s success. Despite Chelsea’s yo-yoing performance, the club had the highest average attendance in English football in ten separate seasons.
Chelsea F.C. won their first trophy in the League championship of 1954-55, under the management of Ted Drake who was appointed two years prior. It was another ten years until the club won another competition, however during the late 60s and early 70s they won the FA Cup twelve and the UEFA Cup once.
The late 70s through to the early 90s were a turbulent time for Chelsea F.C, the club was facing the possibility of losing its home ground and came close to being relegated to third division. It was not until the introduction of Gianluca Vialli that Chelsea saw a consistent upturn in its fortunes with them winning the League Cup, UEFA Winners’ Cup, UEFA Super Cup in 1998 and the FA Cup in 2000.
Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea F.C in 2003 and spent over £100 million on new players and under the management of José Mourinho, Chelsea became the fifth English team to win back to back league championships since WWII. Since Mourinho’s departure during the 2007-08 season, Chelsea has not kept a manager for more than two years but despite this the team has managed to win a number of cups and leagues during these years.
