Exclusive: Chelsea exploring permanent move to Stamford Bridge next season
WSL side in talks to stage all home games at main stadium
Chelsea are exploring the possibility of moving all of their home games to Stamford Bridge next season, The Cutback can reveal.
Sonia Bompastor’s side currently play the majority of their home fixtures at Kingsmeadow in south west London with Uefa Women’s Champions League games and some select WSL matches played at Stamford Bridge.
However, The Athletic revealed in January that the club were in talks with AFC Wimbledon to share the League One side’s 9,000-seater Plough Lane stadium.
The plans received widespread criticism from Chelsea fans online.
The Cutback understands that plans are now being explored to make the move to the club’s main stadium, Stamford Bridge, from the 2026-27 season.
Chelsea own Kingsmeadow, formerly the home of AFC Wimbledon, with the club also staging academy games there. The club purchased the ground in 2015 and have been playing WSL games there since the 2017-18 season. Kingsmeadow was originally home to non-league side Kingstonian before AFC Wimbledon moved in to ground share in 2002. AFC Wimbledon moved into the new Plough Lane stadium in 2020.
There has been plenty of discussion about the long-term sustainability of staying at the Kingston-based ground which has a maximum capacity of 4,850.
Attendances at Stamford Bridge have improved over the last few years. This season, Chelsea staged four WSL games there with the London derby against Arsenal drawing 32,000, the highest attendance of their season so far.
Chelsea have struggled to pull in significant numbers to compete with Arsenal’s regular 40,000-plus crowds at the Emirates. A move to the club’s main stadium could help attract more fans given its central location and its familiarity with fans of the men’s team.