Alexis Ohanian is the new co-owner of Chelsea Women but, aside from being married to tennis icon Serena Williams, who is he?
According to his LinkedIn page he is a “Business Dad” (he has a podcast of the same name) but in broader terms he is an American entrepreneur, best known for being a co-founder of social media site Reddit.
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He is also a long-term supporter of women’s sport. Ohanian and Williams were the largest shareholders of National Women’s Soccer League side Angel City in the United States until the club were sold last year for £192.3 million. That was the highest price paid for a women’s sports team – until this week.
Ohanian confirmed on Wednesday that he has purchased an eight per cent stake in Chelsea Women, believed to be worth £20 million. It is understood the deal values the team at around £245 million.
“I’ve bet big on women’s sports before, and I’m doing it again,” Ohanian said on social media. “I’m proud to announce that I’m joining Chelsea as an investor and board member. I’m honoured for the chance to help this iconic club become every American’s favourite WSL team and much, much more.”
Alexis Ohanian, the husband of Serena Williams, is a major investor in women’s sport – AP/Marta Lavandier
So, what does Ohanian’s investment mean for Chelsea and the women’s game more broadly?
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Chelsea have won the Women’s Super League six years in a row and this season managed to go the whole campaign unbeaten. Earlier this year they won the League Cup and on Sunday they could complete a domestic treble if they beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley.
Sonia Bompastor, Chelsea’s manager, welcomed the news, saying: “This is a game-changing investment for the women’s game but also for young girls. We speak about the investment but also the values under that. That’s really important for the women’s game but also for England to have someone to invest in a team like Chelsea.
“It just shows we are in a really great place at the moment. But we still want to be an even better team and better club and we want to be one of the best teams in the world in terms of results on the pitch but also we want to be a model outside the pitch.”
The obvious concern with Ohanian’s investment is that the rich are just going to get richer.
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Chelsea broke the women’s transfer record when they signed US defender Naomi Girma for $1 million (£890,000) in January and have the highest wage bill in the WSL by a long way.
Their rivals are trailing behind when it comes to finances and it is only going to get harder for them to compete. There is an argument that Ohanian’s investment would have better served another club, perhaps one not connected to a huge Premier League side. The same could have been said when Michele Kang became the majority owner of French club Lyon who, like Chelsea, have dominated their domestic league for the last decade.
In the men’s game there have been a number of success stories of investment in clubs further down the pyramid – Wrexham and Birmingham City for example – but it is also true that trying to replicate that in the women’s game is less financially viable. Kang did purchase independent club London City Lionesses but that was partly down to the fact it would have been harder for her to be a majority owner of another women’s side in England.
Michele Kang bought Women’s Championship side London City Lionesses who have just won promotion to the WSL – Getty Images/Matt Lewis
Other clubs not having the same financial might or foresight is, of course, not the fault of Chelsea.
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The club are desperate to win the Champions League and their 8-2 aggregate semi-final defeat by Barcelona showed they still have some way to go to overtake the Spanish side as Europe’s best team. Their continued investment is aimed at closing the gap in Europe as much as it is aimed at maintaining their dominance domestically.
Two things can also be true at once. Ohanian’s investment in Chelsea can be viewed with trepidation with regards to making the WSL less competitive but in the same breath his backing and belief in the potential of women’s sport can be celebrated.
Ohanian is clearly a passionate advocate for the game. As well as his previous involvement with Angel City, he has invested in The Sports Bra – a first of its kind sports bar in Portland which exclusively televises women’s sport. Women’s football needs more investors with the same mindset as Ohanian.
Perhaps the issue is less about Chelsea getting further ahead and more about why other clubs are not doing more to keep up with them.
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Asked if she thought the investment would mean Chelsea will move further away from other teams, Bompastor replied: “I hope we will be able to do that because we want to be the leaders, we want to be the team who shows to every other team how you need to perform and how you need to invest in the women’s game.
“So, hopefully, this example will bring some other people to invest in women’s teams in this league. I think that’s the example we need to set for ourselves but also to show to the other teams what they need to do.”
Head coach Sonia Bompastor is unapologetic about Chelsea’s plans to strengthen further – AP/Katie Chan
It is not clear which area of the club Ohanian’s investment will be directed to, although Bompastor emphasised that it will go purely on the women’s team, and whether he is likely to be focused more on off-the-pitch matters.
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His statement about making Chelsea the US’s favourite WSL team hints at being more concerned with the club’s brand, commercial growth and tapping into new audiences outside of the UK.
More widely, Chelsea will view Ohanian’s £20 million investment as validation of their decision to reposition the women’s team as a separate entity to the men’s side.
Chelsea Women FC were sold to the club’s parent company BlueCo for £200 million, in a move which allowed them to avoid breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules by declaring it as income. The £200 million sale figure is still to be approved by the Premier League.
Ohanian and Williams will attend Sunday’s FA Cup final at Wembley in what could be the club’s first trophy since his investment was confirmed. If they are successful, it is unlikely to be the last piece of silverware he will see.
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Listen to the Telegraph Women’s Sport Podcast’s episode on money.
