Sonia Bompastor, the first woman to win the Women's Champions League as a player and manager with Lyon, has been named Chelsea's new head coach on a four-year contract.
The club also stated that Chelsea Women would become a separate entity, no longer sitting beneath but alongside the men's team. The club's ownership group will remain the controlling stakeholder of Chelsea Women and is dedicated to significant investment in the squad and sharing footballing resources, but the women's team will be constituted as a separate business. This is intended to attract fresh investment, and a bank has been contacted to investigate potential minority ownership of Chelsea Women.
Bompastor's arrival comes after she led Lyon to this season's Champions League final, when the eight-time champions lost 2-0 to Barcelona on Saturday, their first loss to the Catalan club. The French manager was seen as the standout contender from a shortlist of four assembled by Chelsea's general manager, Paul Green, as part of a recruitment process overseen by Green and the sporting directors. The leaving manager, Emma Hayes, was consulted throughout the process.
It is claimed that the club was impressed by Bompastor's experience as a player and manager, as well as her enthusiasm for the position and drive to succeed in a new setting and more difficult league. It is also known that suggestions suggesting Chelsea was looking for a woman were inaccurate, with the club open to hiring a male or female manager.
Because Lyon and Chelsea had key games toward the end of the season, there was no transition process for Hayes, who spent 12 years at Chelsea before taking over as head coach of the US women's national team.
"I hope to live up to Emma's legacy and continue the work that has been done in recent years," Bompastor stated. "Let the adventure begin." Bompastor enters with transfer recruiting well underway, since Chelsea frequently operates a window or two ahead, but it is understood the club will slot her into that system and consider any demands she has for this summer.
As a player, Bompastor won eight French league titles, four Coupes de France féminine, and two Champions League titles. As manager of Lyon, she won three consecutive league titles, one Coupe de France, and the 2022 Champions League.
Bompastor, a left-sided midfielder who can also play left-back, retired from football in 2013. She spent two seasons with Lyon. She has previously played for Montpellier, Washington Freedom, and on loan at Paris Saint-Germain.
She was born in France to Portuguese parents and is France's eighth-most-capped player, having appeared in 156 international matches throughout a 12-year career. Following her playing career, she became the director of Lyon's academy before being named manager of the first squad in 2021.
The decision to establish Chelsea Women as an autonomous entity is part of the club's growth strategy. The women's team will have specialized resources, management, and commercial leadership. Any prospective investor in the women's team is presently needed to go via the men's team, however BDT & MSD Partners, a worldwide merchant bank, has been hired as a financial consultant for future minority investment.
Chelsea has quadrupled sponsorship for the women's team, in partnerships specific to the women's squad, and doubled ticket sales in the last year, and their nine games at Stamford Bridge have not resulted in losses.
Zarah Al-Kudcy, commercial director, stated, "At this pivotal moment in the history of the sport, we want to take our work to the next level by unlocking the team's long-term potential."
"Dedicated resources and facilities are exactly what women's football requires and deserves in order to fully realize the game's great potential. Further investment demonstrates Chelsea's commitment to women's football, and the benefits will be felt for many years to come.
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