Two of the world’s biggest sports names, Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams, have entered into a bid to become the new owners of Chelsea FC.
According to Sky News, the takeover for the football club is spearheaded by Sir Martin Broughton, the former British Airways and Liverpool FC chairman. The outlet confirms that amongst those investors backing the move are the seven-time F1 champion and the 23-time Grand Slam winner. Sources have indicated that the two have joined together to raise millions of pounds, though the exact number has yet to be revealed. A spokesperson for the Hamilton did however, confirm that his £10 million GBP investment was “not accurate.”
Williams’ venture capital fund appears to be making moves within the UK market, with her VC firm recently announcing an investment in Opensponsorship, a British sports technology start-up. Hamilton has backed several UK firms including companies like Zapp, a London-based grocery delivery app. The involvement of famous athletes in Premier League clubs continues to be a prominent trend with LeBron James known to be a small shareholder in Liverpool for over a decade. Other notable investors in the Chelsea deal include Canada’s Rogers family and John Arnold who chaired the Houston 2026 FIFA World Cup bid committee and Taiwan’s Tsai family which owns Taipei Fubon Braves.
Hamilton and Williams are expected to play a formal role in Chelsea FC’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts should their bid be successful.
In other sports news, Phoenix Suns’ Devin Booker is out indefinitely due to a hamstring injury.
Tagged: Sports