Soccer-Reddit co-founder Ohanian buys stake in WSL side Chelsea

By Aadi Nair

(Reuters) -Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder and husband of tennis great Serena Williams, has acquired a stake in Women's Super League champions Chelsea, he announced on Wednesday.

"I’ve bet big on women’s sports before—and I’m doing it again," Ohanian posted on X.

"I'm proud to announce that I'm joining Chelsea Women as an investor and board member. I'm honored for the chance to help this iconic club become America's favourite WSL team and much, much more."

A source told Reuters that Ohanian had acquired a 10% stake in the team.

Ohanian's investment of 20 million pounds ($26.52 million) values the London-based club at about 200 million pounds.

The 42-year-old has been involved in women's soccer before and was the largest shareholder of Angel City, which he helped launch to great fanfare in 2020, before it was sold for $250 million in 2024.

He also founded Athlos NYC, a women-only track and field meet that hosted its inaugural event in September with the winners each pocketing $60,000.

According to a report in the Times on Wednesday, Ohanian and Williams will be in attendance at Wembley Stadium on Sunday to watch Chelsea take on Manchester United in the women's FA Cup final.

Chelsea's women's team passed from Chelsea FC Holdings Limited to BlueCo, Todd Boehly's consortium, last June in a deal worth around 198.7 million pounds.

Following the sale, Chelsea Women appointed Aki Mandhar as their first-ever dedicated chief executive officer as part of a "repositioning" effort.

Earlier this month, Chelsea won their sixth consecutive WSL title, finishing unbeaten in their league campaign and setting a points record.

They also won the Women's League Cup in March and reached the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League, where they were knocked out by holders Barcelona.

($1 = 0.7542 pounds)

(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Tommy Lund in GdanskEditing by Toby Davis)