History of Chelsea Football Club
Budget: £5 – £10 GBP
Chelsea was founded in 1905 by Gus Mears, an English businessman who had earlier bought the Stamford Bridge athletics stadium with the plan of transforming it into a football ground. His original idea was to rent it to an existing club, but after a deal with Fulham FC was halted, he got the idea to start a new club.
The biggest team in the capital
Chelsea would quickly prove to be a hit with the local supporters and established itself as the biggest club in the capital. In the late 1910s, the club became the first in Britain with an average attendance over 40,000.
The huge attendance numbers made "The Pensioners", a nickname for the team, to one of the richest clubs in the country and made it possible to pay well reputed players. Chelsea become also home for the first non-British player in the Football League, the Danish Nils Middelboe, who arrived to the club in 1913.
The biggest team in the capital
Chelsea would quickly prove to be a hit with the local supporters and established itself as the biggest club in the capital. In the late 1910s, the club became the first in Britain with an average attendance over 40,000.
The huge attendance numbers made "The Pensioners", a nickname for the team, to one of the richest clubs in the country and made it possible to pay well reputed players. Chelsea become also home for the first non-British player in the Football League, the Danish Nils Middelboe, who arrived to the club in 1913.