Club Name: Chelsea Football Club
Founding Year: 1905
Home Stadium: Stamford Bridge
Training Ground: Cobham Training Centre
Current League: Premier League
Current Manager: Liam Rosenior
Rival Clubs: Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur

Chelsea are one of the most successful football clubs in England, with a history dating back to 1905. The Blues have enjoyed rich success, having secured domestic and European titles.

Chelsea FC v Olympique Lyonnais: Quarter-Final 2nd Leg - UEFA Women's Champions League
Photo by Julian Finney – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

Chelsea club name

Henry Augustus ‘Gus’ Mears and his brother, Joseph Theophilus, birthed the idea of creating Chelsea Football Club in 1904. The brothers had obtained the deeds for Stamford Bridge with the target of turning the athletics venue into a football stadium, but failed to secure a tenant.

So, the Mears brothers opted to form their own football club after Fulham rejected an offer to lease Stamford Bridge. They would settle on naming their club after the adjacent borough of Chelsea. They also considered calling it Stamford Bridge FC, London FC and Kensington FC.

Founded as: Chelsea Football Club (1905-present)

Nicknames: The Blues

Chelsea founding year

The Mears brothers founded Chelsea with Tom Lewin Kinton and John Henry Maltby on April 20, 1905. The group first met that March to discuss founding a club once the Mears brothers gained Stamford Bridge’s deeds and formed the company, Chelsea Football & Athletic Club.

Chelsea home stadium

Chelsea FC v Brentford FC - Premier League
Photo by Gaspafotos/MB Media/Getty Images

Chelsea’s home stadium has been Stamford Bridge throughout their history, having moved to the ground when founded in 1905. Yet the stadium’s history predates that of Chelsea’s as its doors first opened on April 28, 1877. It was originally the home of the London Athletic Club.

First stadium: Stamford Bridge (1905-present)

Capacity: 40,341

Chelsea training ground

Chelsea’s training ground has been the Cobham Training Centre since January 2005. But the site did not officially open until July 2007, with the Blues using temporary buildings at first. It marked Chelsea’s move away from their former training ground at Harlington after 30 years.

Previous training ground: Harlington (1970s-2005)

Current training ground: Cobham Training Centre (January 2005-present)

Location: 60-64 Stoke Road, Stoke D’Abernon, Cobham, Surrey, KT11 3PT

Chelsea current league

Chelsea are one of the ever-present Premier League teams, having joined the division for its inaugural season in 1992/93. The Blues have also won the league five times, most recently in 2016/17. They had only won the English top-flight title once before the breakaway division.

Current league: Premier League (1992-present)

Previous league: English Football League, Division One (1989-1992)

Chelsea current manager

FBL-FRA-LIGUE1-STRASBOURG-BREST
Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP via Getty Images

Chelsea appointed Liam Rosenior as the club’s latest manager in January 2026 to replace Enzo Maresca. The Englishman agreed to join the Blues on a seven-year deal.

Rosenior said upon arrival at Stamford Bridge: “I am extremely humbled and honoured to be appointed Head Coach of Chelsea Football Club. This is a club with a unique spirit and a proud history of winning trophies.”

Current manager: Liam Rosenior (2026-present)

Chelsea contact details

Website: www.chelseafc.com/en

General enquiries, phone: 0371 811 1955

Ticket enquiries, phone: 0371 811 1905

Email: Online form

Address: Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London, SW6 1HS

Chelsea tickets

Fans wanting to buy tickets for Chelsea’s games can do so from the Blues’ official website. The club offer their supporters the choice of season tickets and single-game tickets.

Website: www.chelseafc.com/en/tickets/mens-tickets