Credit: Twitter
As per the latest update from the FCDO, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the frozen funds from the sale of Chelsea FC in a UK bank account, will be managed and distributed after the independent experts establish a foundation for it. After that, the licence application will be needed for the funds to move to the foundation, which were reportedly frozen due to the European Union rules.
On March 2, 2022, the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, was forced to put Chelsea FC on sale, after sanctions from the British Government due to the Russia-Ukraine war. A couple of months later, on May 30, 2022, a consortium led by Todd Boehly, became the new owners of the West London club after completing the £4.25 billion deal.
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It was later revealed that Roman Abramovich had agreed that £2.3 billion of the proceedings should be used for “all victims of the war in Ukraine,” through a charitable foundation. Furthermore, Daily Telegraph reported that the funds from the sale got frozen in a UK Bank account, because the EU insisted that the money gets spent directly in Ukraine, rather than everyone impacted by war. After the initial hiccups, the Government in the United Kingdom agreed that money should be spent inside Ukraine only.
On August 4, Thursday, Ben Jacobs, a sports broadcaster, sent out a tweet regarding the latest developments in the matter, which read, “FCDO update on Chelsea's frozen sale funds: "Proceeds from the sale of #CFC are frozen in a UK bank account while independent experts establish a foundation to manage & distribute the money. A licence application will then need to be made to move the funds to the foundation…”.
Moreover, under Todd Boehly's ownership, Chelsea FC struggled massively in the 2022-23 season, finishing in 12th place in the Premier League points table, just 10 points ahead of the relegated teams. In the UEFA Champions League last season, they had a better fist of things, reaching the quarter-finals stage before getting eliminated by Real Madrid 4-0 on aggregate.
