Chelsea sale: Boris Johnson ‘considering giving proceeds to grassroots football in the UK’
Boris Johnson ‘considering giving proceeds from Chelsea sale to grassroots football in the UK – yet the majority would still go to Ukraine – as government try and avoid £3bn sitting in frozen bank account after Roman Abramovich was sanctioned’
- The British government are looking to avoid the proceeds of around £3billion sitting in a frozen bank account
- Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned due to his ties with Russia president Vladimir Putin
- Boris Johnson wants the money to go to a foundation to help Ukraine recover following the Russian invasion
- Yet former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has written to ministers asking for £750m of the sale to go towards grassroots football
- The news comes with Sir Jim Ratcliffe still holding out hope of owning Chelsea after a £4.25bn bid – but American Todd Boehly remains in pole position
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Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly considering giving some proceeds of the sale of Chelsea FC to grassroots football in the UK, yet the majority will still go towards supporting Ukraine.
The British government are looking to avoid the proceeds of around £3billion sitting in a frozen bank account, given current Blues owner Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned due to his ties with Russia president Vladimir Putin.
A report in The Times details that the prime minister wants the money to go to a foundation to help Ukraine recover following the Russian invasion, yet there are concerns about the formalities of setting up such an initiative so quickly.
Abramovich has previously said he wanted the proceeds to go to victims of the war.
Yet the Times report says that former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has written to ministers asking for £750m of the sale to go towards grassroots football, with a focus on improving 20,000 playing surfaces, building more than 1,000 artificial pitches and renovating changing rooms.
Writing to Nadine Dorries, the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS), Dein said: ‘While, to date, the focus has been on the buyers, there is a crucial question of where the proceeds from the sale go.
‘Without question, the victims of the war in Ukraine should be central in our thoughts and anything we can do to use this sale money to support humanitarian efforts should be welcomed.
‘Investment in coaching, pitches, academies and facilities in deprived and left-behind areas could be game-changing for communities and young people.
Boris Johnson is reportedly considering giving some proceeds of the sale of Chelsea FC to grassroots football in the UK
American investor Todd Boehly (left) is the frontrunner to become the next Chelsea owner after Roman Abramovich (right)
‘It could help to create a new generation of English football stars while also supporting community cohesion, new jobs, reducing youth crime and helping grow and develop girls’ and women’s football.
‘These are all cross-government priorities and I hope that Her Majesty’s government may be able to work together to create a game-changing opportunity.’
Former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein has written to ministers asking for £750m of the sale to go towards grassroots football
The Football Foundation charity has held talks with a senior adviser to Johnson, David Canzini, about Dein’s proposal.
The news comes with Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe still holding out hope of owning Chelsea after submitting a £4.25bn bid on Friday – but American investor Todd Boehly remains in pole position.
Boehly is currently in a five-day period of negotiations about buying the club, after the bids of Steve Pagluica and Sir Martin Broughton were rejected last week.
Yet Ratcliffe’s offer at the 11th-hour is, according to the Evening Standard, still seen as a ‘viable option’ by insiders, with US merchant bank Raine Group still in the process of confirming the new owner to take over from Roman Abramovich.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe (left) is still holding out hope of owning Chelsea after submitting a £4.25bn bid on Friday – but American investor Todd Boehly (right) remains the frontrunner
Ratcliffe’s 11th-hour offer last week is reportedly seen as a ‘viable option’ by insiders
The report in the Standard details that Ratcliffe is believed to have bypassed Raine in making his offer, thus avoiding the original complexities of submitting a bid.
Ratcliffe, the owner of INEOS who have investments in F1 constructors champions Mercedes, Ligue 1 side Nice and cycling team INEOS Grenadiers, was formerly interested in taking over at Stamford Bridge before he joined the process late in the day.
The club has been up for sale since early March, with current owner Roman Abramovich making the move shortly before being sanctioned by the British government over his ties to Russia president Vladimir Putin.
