This month marks the fifth anniversary of the current Chelsea Football Club Board, during which time we have made significant progress both on and off the pitch. Ron Gourlay took over as Chief Executive at the beginning of the 2009/10 campaign, which culminated in our first domestic Double and began with the Community Shield, making it our most successful season ever. That was followed in 2012 by our first Champions League triumph and a year later the Europa League as Chelsea became the first English team, and fourth overall, to win every major UEFA club competition, while also lifting our seventh FA Cup. In addition, there has been growth elsewhere, with our commercial activities expanding to enable us to operate on a sustainable financial footing as one of the world’s biggest football clubs, and also working closely with our supporters and helping our communities around the world through the Chelsea Foundation. ‘This season marks the fifth anniversary of my time as Chief Executive of Chelsea Football Club, during which I have been proud to oversee a huge amount of success both on and off the pitch,’ Gourlay said. ‘Of course, the ultimate objective for all of us is to win silverware and the last five years have seen some of our most famous triumphs. ‘These achievements have been combined with considerable progress away from the playing field. We have constantly looked to maximise revenues through commercial ventures and the club has continued a number of long-standing partnerships, at the same time as securing new deals. ‘In 2012, the club announced a profit of £1.4million for the first time since Roman Abramovich took over and the importance of striking the right balance between the business side of things and football has become even more acute during the era of Financial Fair Play. ‘When I became Chief Executive, another of the key points I made was the importance of interacting closely with our supporters. Each season since then, through the Fans Forum, we have listened carefully to suggestions and queries and, wherever possible, acted accordingly. ‘I also highlighted the need to expand upon the work the club conducts within the community, as well as our charitable commitments, and this all came under one umbrella when the Chelsea Foundation launched in 2010. ‘Since then, our Foundation staff have carried out numerous projects, not just at home in the UK but across the globe, as our popularity has grown. We wanted to build a legacy for Chelsea throughout the world and through our Here to Play, Here to Stay initiative we have not only gone to play first-team games during tours of Asia and the United States, we have also worked extremely hard within the local communities. ‘A great example of this is the expansion of our innovative Blue Pitches, where much of our community work is conducted. Having started in the club’s heartland of Battersea, there are now many more in locations throughout the world. ‘I hope this gives you a good indication of the strides the club has taken over the last five years and I can assure you it is our intention to continue this in the future.’
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 05:11:46 +0000
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