Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres today announced the NSW Government has secured one of the world’s most popular football teams and current English Premier League leaders, Chelsea FC, to play an exclusive match in Sydney.
Secured by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, in a partnership with ANZ Stadium, Chelsea FC will take on Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium on 2 June this year. It has been 41 years since they were last on Australian shores.
“Chelsea FC has a playing squad full of world class international players including John Terry, Cesc Fabregas, Oscar, Eden Hazard, Diego Costa – not to mention their legendary manager Jose Mourinho,” Mr Ayres said.
“This announcement is a major win for Sydney and is yet another example of the NSW Government’s commitment to building a world-class calendar of events to drive visitation to our State.
“With over 509 million Chelsea FC fans around the world we expect not only visitors from around Australia but from our neighbouring countries to make the trip for the match.
“Chelsea FC v Sydney FC will be a must see for all football and sporting fans, and is expected to contribute more than $8 million in visitor expenditure to the NSW economy.
“Following the recent visits of English champions Manchester United and Italian giants Juventus, today’s announcement reinforces the State’s reputation for securing major European football teams exclusively for Sydney.
“For the most exciting and amazing events there’s absolutely nowhere else to be than in Sydney come the end of May,” Mr Ayres added.
The Chelsea FC match caps off a bumper week and a half of sporting events in Sydney including Waratahs v Crusaders in a Super Rugby Final re-match on Saturday 23 May, the first match of the State of Origin series on Wednesday 27 May, and Tottenham Hotspur taking on Sydney FC on Saturday 30 May.
Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck said: “We are delighted to be returning to Australia for the first time in many years and look forward to playing at the iconic ANZ Stadium.
“Australia is unchartered territory for the modern Chelsea, and I can’t wait to see our many fans there as we show our appreciation for their long-distance support of the club. We are sure the team will put on an entertaining display as we end what has been a memorable campaign,” he said.
ANZ Stadium Managing Director Daryl Kerry said more than 250,000 fans were expected through the Stadium for a stretch of elite sporting events that Sydney will long remember.
“We started the year at ANZ Stadium with seven games of the AFC Asian Cup, including that memorable final won by the Socceroos, and now Sydney is about to revel in a sporting extravaganza highlighted by State of Origin rugby league and football classics involving two of the English Premier League’s greatest clubs,” Mr Kerry said.
“Further ahead, of course, there is Bledisloe Cup, the NRL Grand Final, and two huge music events featuring AC/DC and Taylor Swift in November.
“It’s been quite a year already and there is plenty more to come, with up to 2 million fans expected to attend more than 50 events at ANZ Stadium in 2015,” Mr Kerry concluded.
General public tickets for Chelsea FC v Sydney FC go on sale May 6 from www.ticketek.com.au
Fast Facts on Chelsea FC
- 4 English League titles
- 7 FA Cups
- 5 League Cups
- 4 FA Community Shields
- 1 UEFA Champions League title
- 2 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cups
- 1 UEFA Europa League title
- 1 UEFA Super Cup
- Over 500,000,000 fans worldwide
- 41 million Facebook likes
- 5.5 million Twitter followers
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