Powerhouses of English football Chelsea will make their first trip to Perth since 1974, with a friendly match against the A-League’s Perth Glory at the new Optus Stadium announced recently.
The match is set to take place on Monday, July 23 and will reportedly be the Blues’ only tour stop in Australia during the Premier League offseason. Chelsea last played in Australia in 2015, when they defeated Sydney FC 1-0 in front of 83,598 at ANZ Stadium.
Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett said the match was “a great coup for Western Australia and terrific for the new stadium,” and that Chelsea’s monstrous stature in world sport would “help shine a light on [Perth].”
Despite the friendly taking place barely a week after the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, Barnett said he expected Chelsea to bring “a good representation of their star players”.
The match is expected to sell out the 65,000-seat venue and will be the first instance of an international football team playing at the venue.
Chelsea FC chairman Bruce Buck said the club was “delighted” with their friendly match in Sydney and was looking forward to playing in the new venue.
The Blues currently sit in fourth on the Premier League table after back-to-back shock losses to Bournemouth and Watford, while the Glory are similarly reeling with four losses in five games putting them in eighth.
The fixture is very unlikely to impact the 2018 AFL season, despite the West Coast Eagles and Western Bulldogs clashing at 3:20pm (AEST) the day before.
The real concern comes down to football's growing trend of big corporations taking up slices of the world game at the expense of smaller teams.
Kai Havertz has scored twice against his former team and Ben White also got a brace as Arsenal brushed aside a dismal Chelsea side…
Frankly, it was a bad look for Hayes. She appears like a grumpy and frustrated manager as her tenure at Chelsea is coming to an end.
Earlier in the season, Liverpool winning this fixture would be close to a foregone conclusion - but Chelsea have players who can win trophies.
Sam Kerr is reported to have agreed to a new deal to extend her medal-strewn stay at English champions Chelsea on the day her…
Nathan Ake's 88th-minute tap-in has helped Manchester City end their Tottenham Hotspur Stadium hoodoo and progress into the FA Cup fifth round after a…
