Chelsea have confirmed that shirt sponsors Three have resumed their agreement with the club, having paused their deal after Roman Abramovich was sanctioned.
The UK government had hit Abramovich and his assets with a range of penalties due to his close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin. One of those assets was Chelsea, who were banned from selling tickets, making signings, negotiating contracts or even opening their club shop.
In an attempt to avoid being tainted by Abramovich and his ties to Russia following their invasion of Ukraine, Three opted to temporarily sever their links with Chelsea. The telecommunications company reportedly requested that their branding be taken off the Blues' shirts, though that never materialised.
"We recognise that this decision will impact the many Chelsea fans who follow their team passionately. However, we feel that given the circumstances, and the Government sanction that is in place, it is the right thing to do," the company said in a statement at the time.
Chelsea have now been bought out though, with LA Dodgers owner Todd Boehly leading a consortium who completed a £4.25billion takeover at the end of May. In the wake of that takeover, Three have now agreed to reactivate their deal, which the club confirmed in a statement released on their website.
"Following the sale of Chelsea Football Club we are pleased to confirm that Three are restarting their marketing activities with immediate effect. As a result of UK Government sanctions imposed on Chelsea FC’s previous ownership in March, our official shirt partner Three decided to pause their marketing activities with the Club until the impact of the sanctions on the Club ended," the statement read.
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"Three’s partnership with Chelsea began in 2020 and their logo has been on our shirts during a highly successful period for the Club, with the men’s team winning the Champions League and being crowned world champions, and Chelsea Women securing the domestic quadruple and a league and cup double in that time, as well as reaching the Women’s Champions League final."
The deal is worth £40m to the Premier League giants and sees Three sponsor both their men's and women's teams. John Rogers, who is Chelsea's head of global partnerships, is relieved to see Three return to their stable of sponsors.
"Following the recent pause in their activities, the Club is pleased to have resumed our work with Three and we look forward with excitement to the start of the new season, together. We would like to thank all Club partners for their support now and in the future," he added.
Three will now definitely appear on the front of Chelsea's kits for the upcoming season, though they are yet to be released to supporters.
The Blues will start their Premier League season with a trip to Everton, where they will face former manager Frank Lampard, before hosting Tottenham in their first game at Stamford Bridge.
