Chelsea having betting sponsor 'would be short-sighted'

Alex Howell, BBC Sport

The Premier League has blocked Chelsea from having Paramount+ as their front of shirt sponsor for next season.

It's understood that having a rival streaming or broadcast brand would have been against the league's licensing agreement.

The Blues remain in talks with other potential sponsors and nothing is agreed yet, but there is discontent from supporters about the prospect of having a gambling brand on the front of the kit for the new campaign.

The Chelsea Supporters' Trust sent an open letter to the club and co-owner Todd Boehly outlining discontent at the potential for a betting partner to be allowed. It said 77% of voting members "strongly disagree or disagree" with a betting company as the new main sponsor.

Betting sponsors on the front of shirts in the Premier League will be banned at the end of the 2025-26 season.

"An online casino and betting company as a primary shirt sponsor would make a total mockery of much of the previous work pioneered by The Chelsea Foundation. It would be short-sighted and would force many of our members to see any future CFC Foundation projects as tokenistic," the letter said.

"It is public knowledge that the sponsorship with Three was to expire this summer. The CST is disheartened and unsure as to why it has taken until June to reportedly establish this new sponsor.

"An online casino and betting company as the primary shirt sponsor is not in line with the commitment of growing and developing Chelsea FC as a 'world-class' organisation."