Chelsea Football Club, the reigning European League champions, has signed in-a-year sponsorship deal with crypto trading platform WhaleFin. The sponsorship deal is worth £20 million ($20.7 million). Chelsea now has a crypto platform as one of its primary sponsors, making it the second team in the English Premier League to do so. According to sources, the shirt sleeve sponsorship arrangement predates the acquisition. Now, WhaleFin’s name will be visible on Chelsea’s every football t-shirt.
We're excited to reveal @WhaleFinApp, the digital asset platform powered by @ambergroup_io as our new sleeve partner from the 2022/23 season! 💙#AmberGroup | #WhaleFin
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 12, 2022
WhaleFin, a subsidiary of the Singapore-based Amber Group, is trying to expand its list of prominent football sponsors.
Guy Laurence, Chelsea FC Chief Executive, remarked:
“As Amber Group continue to expand coverage of their platform globally, they will now have the ability to not only speak to the hundreds of millions of loyal Chelsea fans around the globe but also be seen by the billions who tune into the Premier League each season.”
Chelsea, which is now experiencing an ownership transition and has suffered considerable financial difficulties this season as a result of penalties imposed on its Russian owner, Roman Abramovic, due to his links with the Russian government, the UK government sanctioned the billionaire.
The penalties blocked Abramovic’s assets in the UK, including Chelsea, which he was going to sell. Chelsea’s sponsors, including Three, Zapp, Parimatch, and Hyundai, have also terminated their connections with the team as a result of the penalties. However, the deal with WhaleFin is said to have been inked in January, while Abramovic was still in command.
Several more EPL clubs are participating with crypto in some form, including some of the league’s premier clubs, such as Manchester City and Arsenal, which both have fan tokens.
At least 17 of the league’s 20 teams have some sort of crypto cooperation. Meanwhile, it has been reported that Liverpool is in talks with a crypto company about a £70 million a year primary shirt sponsorship contract.
