Read all about it – Historic journey of Chelsea Women celebrated
From the official Chelsea FC website:
To celebrate the historic journey of Chelsea Women and Emma Hayes’s final game in the Stamford Bridge dugout, which will be against Barcelona in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, the Blues took over London’s oldest family-run newsstand, Haines in Sloane Square.
Re-branded in the manager’s honour, ‘Hayes at Haines’ newsstand was emblazoned with Chelsea memorabilia and served as a symbol of the club’s heritage and highlighted the Blues’ unstoppable rise to the top of the women’s game under Hayes’s stewardship.
Through engaging with fans in the heart of London, Chelsea hoped to inspire a new generation of supporters and cement their place in footballing folklore.
Maren Mjelde, who joined the Blues in 2016, engaged with the community and handed out exclusive giveaways ahead of the UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Barcelona, which takes place at 5.30pm on Saturday 27 April.
‘I’ve really enjoyed meeting fans and soaking up some of the excitement around our Barcelona game,’ said the Norway international. ‘It will be a tough first leg in Barcelona this weekend, and we will have to be at our best, but the thought of the return game at home is special.
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‘We love playing in front of a home crowd and it would mean so much to us as players to see a sold-out Stamford Bridge. In games at the top level with fine margins – our fans are the best in the world and their energy, noise and passion raise our level as a team.’
Chelsea are the only English side remaining in this season’s Women’s Champions League – and the ambition is for a soldout Stamford Bridge to roar on Hayes’s side when Barcelona travel to London in just over a week.
That fixture will be the last played at Stamford Bridge with Hayes in the Chelsea dugout. The Blues manager will depart at the end of the campaign but is hopeful of finishing her tenure with European silverware.
Hayes said: ‘What a journey this has been for the team, for us to bring home a sell-out stadium on the 27 April would just be a momentous achievement for us all and symbolic of not only how far the Chelsea Women have come over the past few years but also how far women’s football has too.’
‘The stage is set for an incredible spectacle of football, I hope as many fans as possible make it to the stadium so we can make history together.”
‘Chelsea Supporters Group’ can also be found on X and Facebook
