Chelsea to have 1,400 luxury apartments built in Dubai with Blues badge branded on rooftop pitch as part of new sponsorship

Chelsea's new partner, whose branding has become the first to be featured on the front of the club's shirt in almost a year, has revealed plans to build a state of the art apartment complex in Dubai. DAMAC will construct the 'Chelsea Residences' in the Gulf city, with one, two and three-bedroom apartments to be sold, starting from £445,000. The 1,400 homes will be sea-facing, with promises of "modern sophistication, high-end finishes, state-of-the-art materials, and subtle Chelsea branding throughout". Located 20 minutes from Dubai's busy international airport, there will even be a rooftop football pitch and a "Chelsea football simulation room".

The DAMAC partnership, announced in the past week, is a big deal for Chelsea. The property firm's name featured on Chelsea shirts for Thursday night's Conference League win over Djurgarden as part of the new agreement. The Blues have started each of the last two seasons without a main shirt sponsor, but struck a short-term deal with Infinite Athlete once 2023-24 had begun.

Via their official website, Chelsea confirmed: "DAMAC has been at the forefront of the Middle East’s luxury real estate market and the partnership includes a collaboration in a first-of-its-kind football-themed real estate project, Chelsea Residences by DAMAC. The new development in Dubai will be built with Chelsea FC’s famous brand woven into the fabric, from its concierge service to its high-performance spaces."

The DAMAC branding will be displayed on the front of Chelsea shirts for the rest of this 2024-25 season, but it remains to be seen quite what the plan will be longer term. The club hierarchy have been hoping to land a lucrative sponsorship deal for some time, and negotiating power and appeal would be boosted if they are soon competing in the Champions League.