We Are Chelsea - Carly chats Chelsea Women with Alexis Ohanian

Episode Date: July 7, 2026

This is We are Chelsea, the official podcast of Chelsea Women, brought to you in association with Skoda, the official car partner of Chelsea Women and proud supporters of women's sport.https://www.skoda.co.uk/On this episode, Carly Telford sits down with Chelsea Women’s minority owner, Alexis Ohanian, as he shares his passion for the sport, his journey with Chelsea Women, and his inspiring message for the next generation of females in sport.Comment below your questions and Whistleblower dilemmas! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to We Are Chelsea, the official podcast of Chelsea Women brought to you in association with SCODA, the official car partner for Chelsea women and proud supporters of women's sport. I'm Carly Telford, commercial manager and former GK for CFCW. Today we have a very special guest joining us, co-founder of Reddit, founder of 776, CFCW Minority Owner and Proud Girl Dad, Alexis O'Hanian. We'll be chatting about everything from Alexis' journey into women's sport, the future of the game, his work behind the scenes right here and also who Alexis is away from CFCW. This is We Are Chelsea with Alexis Ohanian.

Alexis, welcome back to London and welcome finally to the podcast. I'm glad I finally got invited. I can't see, like maybe not first choice, second choice. It's somewhere in the middle. That's okay. It's great to have you back. How are you? And what brings you to London?

And thank you so much for bringing the weather, by the way, because it is, as you can see you're outside. It's warm. It's beautiful. But what brings you back? Mid-20s? Am I guessing? Good from you, not Fahrenheit either. And now a beautiful day.

I am here announcing Athlos. So our women's track and field league has now announced, we're coming to London. We're going international. So we'll have two meets this year. And we'll open up our season here in London at Stone X, September 18th. It's going to be awesome. This city, this country loves athletics. And I know it's going to be a blast to bring, you know, fastest ladies in the world here to compete for Athlos.

I love that. I'm excited to bring another female sport to this wonderful city. Here, here. And on that, thank you for joining us at Stanford Bridge. To all those watching, we are in a different setup. You can probably hear some noise in the background. It is part of a cup day, so there's some people playing on the pitch. So if you do hear shouting, it's not Alexis. Not this time.

How is it finding out from afar, time difference and all, about new play signings, announcements? What is the support like in the USA? And what do you think it will be like for Chelsea women moving forward? You know, I, it's so interesting because I also have absolutely nothing to do with anything on the sporting side. So I'm like any other fan in terms of, you know, seeing updates and everything else. Do you have the updates? Do you have the app?

Do you have? Of course I got the, actually, it was so funny because when, gosh, the WSL launched their new app, and I don't remember where I was, but literally the day of the announcement, I bumped into some of the people who built or shipped the app from the league, and they were like, oh, did you get the new league app? And I was like, of course I did.

And I could show them in real time. Or could, if not quickly downloading it in your pocket. No, no, honest to God. And it was one of those, also because I'm very judgmental, and so I'm like, well, as a tech guy, like I want to make sure the WSL is a good app. And I was very pleased. And it's one of these things where

I think so much of what got me so, excited about the Chelsea women was the potential to build a brand back in the States. Yeah. And I obviously think the world of this club, and I think there is a reputation here and a storyline that a lot of Americans are going to get behind. And then we've got some ideas. Actually, obviously the Men's World Cup is coming to the U.S. and Canada, Mexico. But I really, I think this will be a great time for Chelsea to continue to tell the story

of the brand. And then in particular, it may seem counterintuitive. I actually think it'll be a great time to continue to hire. highlight and showcase some of our players because, you know, in the United States, the women have the legacy of excellence. And so for a lot of Americans football or soccer is very like sort of women coded. Like, like people are used to cheering for women soccer in America because we love winning and the women win. Yeah. And so I think it actually, you know, we've got some great Americans on the club and between Alyssa and Naomi in particular.

Like I'd love to do more to continue to build their brand and even just to get. some of their takes on the men's World Cup while it's happening. Of course, yeah. Could be some great content. Well, that's the thing as well. It's like bringing like, how does a footballer think? How do you get into their brains? Like, we all fans think we have an idea of what is going on on that pitch,

but actually how do these women and how do these footballers like break down the game in real times, right? That's the bit that we want to kind of, well, you want to help break down for the fan. And the general fan, the new fan in America. Well, what a great opportunity that would be if we can, we can have our players do that for them. It is, it's like how. having, it's like everyone has that friend who, who like, I don't know, they're just a super fan of the thing. And when you watch, let's say, a sport with them, like you're getting this extra perspective, but there's still nothing like someone who's actually played it, actually lived it,

and they just see things that even the biggest super fan can't see. And it's just really entertaining. So we've got some ideas for that. I love that. So on that, considering you're thinking about that, Chelsea Women, Atlas, tell me a day, a week in the life of Alexis, and how do you manage to make it all work? You just tell me you literally just flew in this morning. You've already done a load of media.

Like, I would love to know, apart from coffee, what fuels you and what gets you through your general week to date a month? It is, look, it's a lot of coffee. That is true. I try to live myself, I try not to have more than three cups a day. Yeah. But, you know, I have an amazing team. I build a lot of software to help run my life more efficiently. Wow, okay.

And the promise that I make to my team and my family. Those are the only, like, I don't have hobbies. Work for me is my hobby. And I'm at an age where I have two young children. So, like, my hobby, if there was one, is whatever they're into. And that's fine, right? I think I'm at the part of my life. I'm at the season of my life where I don't need to, you know, catch up with the latest show necessarily

or play my favorite video game. It's either whatever my girls are into at the moment or whatever I'm building. on the business side. And so that helps streamline it. And then also, look, crossover. You know, one of my favorite traditions now has been enjoying the weekends, making pancakes, and then, you know, putting on the Chelsea women.

And it's a very unique thing. As an American sports fan, you are used to sports happening usually in the later afternoons or the evenings. And the fun thing about cheering for a WSL club is it occupies another. part of my day that I would have, I never grew up associating with sports. Yeah. But as someone who loves sports, it's like, oh, great, I get to have this all day long.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's great because the girls get to see me screaming at the TV. The only, this is a true story. And I'm very proud of this. You know, it was really important for me to create a household where my girls have never seen me yell ever. Really? Okay. And, and, and part of this is just sort of the environment that I wanted to create for them.

but also it's got an interesting side effect, which is the only time they do hear me or see me yell is at football. And so it's at the television. And so it's very jarring to them when Papa's screaming. Because look, Bigfellow yells. I mean, I get into it. But it's the only time in their entire childhoods that they see me really feel away and shout. But I'm so happy to do that to you as well.

Of course, those. And I'm like, girls, this is just pop. I can't help it. And, but it's a lot of fun. And so it's become a great tradition. And it's one of my favorite things to share with them. And they don't really have a concept of, they know Chelsea is our family's club.

They don't know the full extent of just how much Chelsea is like, they're getting it quite. I mean, they're kind of finding out. They can see that's passion project is. They have some sense. But it's, it's so sweet. And I just, I want them to feel like this is a part of their lives. And I was so happy to bring them to the FAA

Cup final last year yeah and I know many more that was wonderful like and it was even great to just see and I think I always I had a moment last week where um one of our sponsors brought her children it was her first their first time ever to a game and I think there's something about taking kids to like a big venue for the first time when they kind of step out and then they kind of have that moment where they look around and go like wow this is big and I can imagine for your girls like walking out it's scary but also it's like exciting there's noise the smell they've never experienced them to be able to give them that and then And obviously winning it's pretty cool as well.

But for them it must be nice that you can make them feel part of that as well as like dream big for them as well. And look, Wimbledon is lovely. But the scale of something like Wembley right is next level or Stanford Bridge. Although actually they have to, I got to bring the girls to their first match at the bridge. Yeah, yeah. All in due time. Plenty time for that. We've got 13 next year.

I know. And it's exciting because that for me, again, it's another sort of milestone. and the scale of it, you're right, is just, it's next level. No offense to tennis. I'm not saying, I'm not saying you need something this big. There's a place for tennis everywhere. But the scale of this, especially coming from America, we, like, we appreciate the size. Yeah.

And that takes me on to your journey in women's sports. Like, as you alluded to, like, you're a tech guy. That's where you started. That was your initial passion, your project. So for us, tell us about the journey into it, which you've heard you say. a lot of times it started with my very good friend Alex Morgan reaching out with the tweet and you kind of thought yeah actually um but what led you to what was the moment where you thought okay I see that and I've seen the buzz around these American women winning back to back world

cups what made you think as a businessman and as a tech guy this is something I want to be part of and why I think it really was first and foremost the business opportunity yeah and and And I didn't know Megan at the time, but it was Megan Rapino's team that had sold for like $3 million that prompted my tweet storm. Because that math didn't make sense because like I didn't follow the sport, but I knew who Megan was. I knew who Alex was. And they had millions and millions of followers.

And they were clearly worth millions of dollars a year in brand marketing alone. Those individuals. Yeah. So how was a team only worth three, three and a half million dollars? Something had to have been broken. And so it was really my business brain. that got triggered by that because I thought, okay, this is a huge opportunity.

And when I spent that time with Alex, you know, she had kindly, at the end of my tweet storm, I was like, hey, I'm gonna buy a team in the NW cell. Can someone help me? And she sort of cheekily said, I can help with that. And I reached out to her, she took me up in the offer. We spent a few hours together for lunch and I just took notes and tried to learn from her.

And coming out of that, I realized, this is a huge opportunity. And the, women's the United States women's national team already was getting tier one brand deals was already filling stadiums was already getting millions of viewers and for some reason they just disappeared in between those women's world cup and and that just didn't make sense and then once I dug a little deeper and then I saw the potential for you know how so much in sport today is marketing, frankly, to women in society.

When you think of, you know, regardless of the country, you're talking about auto, you're talking about CPG, consumer packaged goods. In the United States, you're talking about pharmaceutical. I don't think you can't do that here in the UK. But so many of the businesses that are building their brand in sport, through sport, are actually marketing to women. And yet, a lot of these sports are not actually trying, not actually doing, I would say, a great job telling those stories.

And women's sports is obviously such a natural thing. And then you get buy-in from the whole family. And the value of that is, again, from a business standpoint, really meaningful. And then probably the last thing that I think was most meaningful to me was knowing, you know, Serena's proven, Serena and Venus proved that women's tennis could be just as commercially viable as men's, right? There's no, no one talks about charity when they say, you know, women's tennis. We just know it's tremendous, it's valuable, people care about it. And you'd look crazy if you thought, if you dared to say that women's tennis wasn't as serious or valuable or whatever as men's.

And so why not other sports? Why not a sport like football? And again, especially with an American point of view where, again, I'm just a heat-seeking missile for greatness. And because we've never had it in men's soccer, but we've had a legacy of it in women's, I can market that all day long. And so it's been exciting to see. And then the tipping point for me here was y'all winning back-to-back euros. And the line is proving English dominance, bringing it home back-to-back. Like a bunch of school kids went to school.

Boys and girls went to school proud of the UK. Proud of everything these ladies had accomplished. And at that point, it's like, well, what kind of curmudgeon would sit there? and be like, oh, it doesn't count. It's not. No, like, no. Like, be proud. Y'all did it. And it was the ladies that got the job done.

But that, for me, felt like a huge cultural turning point. I was like, okay, women's football's coming on. And this is the chance now. To get involved. I love that. And on that, let's just say you are very present, ever present, not only in person, but on the old, I'm going to call it Twitter. On the old Twitter.

I'm all over social media. But we love that. But also, I think it's a good, you like proof. people wrong and the naysayers and having that moment where you can kind of be like I was here I was I I backed it I believed in it I was present at it what do you think is that people still have a bug bear about it do you think it's they haven't twigged onto the opportunity do you think it's misogyny do you think it's country to country what is the thing that stops do you feel like on these social platforms that that you like to kind of get involved in and what is that

I look it's wild because obviously the environment's changed a lot in six years like it is you're really fighting an uphill battle. You basically just look like a sexist if you're hitting on women's sports at this point. Yeah. And I think we will continue to see more and more growth in the game. We'll see more and more people filling up more and more stadiums. We'll see more and more revenue growth. We'll see salaries continue to grow commensurate with that revenue growth.

And I think it does vary for sure country to country. and I, you know, I can really only speak to the United States. I can barely speak to here. But, like, I can certainly say in the United States, there are still haters who fill my timeline from time to time. And I still get tremendous motivation from proving them wrong, which is just, just I'm broken in that way. And I still save, I still save screenshots of their tweets and tweet them back to them years later.

At this point, hundreds. Like, I literally have a Dropbox folder that's just, it's called women's sports haters. And every time I launch something new or something, there's always some new army of them that will show up. And, but again, I get some sick joy out of it. But also, I think what's so motivating is spending time with y'all, with athletes, you very quickly realize. Scraping in as a former.

Well, no, but I mean, look, once professional athlete, always, come on. There is this, I think the thing that I wish I could show people, I wish I could just like inject in their brains is that there isn't a I have not met a single one who Feels the least bit entitled who feels the least bit like they are owed something like The irony is I think even well-intentioned people have Not helped women's sports by treating it like a charity or treating it as though like You know, oh well these these are role models who inspire your own girls and about And those are true things.

Yeah. But, you know, no one asks men when they come off the pitch, like, how does it feel to inspire a generation of young boys to play football? Right? Because we've reached a point where that's like a given. Yeah, yeah. No, that's not the only reason you play sport. And the thing that's so exciting for me now is more and more people are realizing and getting to know these athletes, these women athletes, for the whole range of things that they are, for their personalities, for their passions, for the fact that they're not just role models. And I think that's a huge step forward.

Yeah. Because that is not just progress towards equality. It's also progress towards seeing the full potential of the game. And I'm excited for that. I can see it happening before my eyes. And I think it's going to mean ultimately a generation of young girls and young boys have, you know, it's going to be just as likely they'll have a poster of their favorite male footballer as female. Yeah.

Right? Why not have, we're very blessed. Why don't have two of the, why have both James siblings? posters on your wall. And I think that that's part of a bigger shift that's really exciting to me because it'll be very normalized. And it's good for everybody. I totally agree.

And I think that's a really good segue into the next point of like, we're seeing more and more female athletes branch out of traditional revenue streams and starting to build their own brands, their own companies. Whilst they're still playing, they're not waiting until they now have to retire to do that. We've got the likes of all very own Eric Cuthbert who launched her own coffee branch. And shout out to Aaron Cuthbert and Ruby Alba. But as someone who's backed so many founders, athletes, do you have any advice for the athletes that are now on that journey,

let's say, that are building out their portfolios, their brands, as they are also athletes? Yeah. I think this has been the muscle of entrepreneurship has been something these women have needed to exercise for a long time because they weren't counting on, you know, you imagine being a teen, right? I'm sure when you were deciding wake up early for practice, what was motivating you was not, you know,

fame and fortune in the way that your male counterparts would have been. Right? I mean, it's coming along and we're working towards it. And so in the meantime then, it meant all of y'all had to exercise those muscles of entrepreneurship in one way or another. Right? And it's part of the reason why you've been such a success here on the other side of the house here at Chelsea. And so I love seeing athletes like Aaron in the middle of it who, I've told her this too

I was like her her energy her personality her everything is gold like and especially coming at it from an American point of view there's something kind of magical about the brogue and everything that just like it hits I don't know it's very charming

and it is she can't help it and I'm a bit for it just like a very telegenic we all do we all do yeah and so again I can't help but think about this as an investor and an entrepreneur myself where it's like if you have this passion, if you have this ability for the storytelling and the charisma and all that stuff,

like take full advantage of it. It is getting easier than ever to build these things, right? Platforms like Shopify didn't exist 20 years ago. They make it easier to manage storefronts. There's so much happening in software now that is making it easier for high agency, high output, creative people to just do more. And it still comes down to the fundamentals, though. You still got to make a great product. You still are going to have to have great people who are working on this too but I've just encountered so this is a new defining thing I think of this generation of athlete to be building and be an entrepreneur while also on the pitch which is incredible right it's it's already a very full-time job to be an athlete but you're seeing so many of these women doing it

and it doesn't surprise me one bit yeah I love it um okay so we should have a little celebration here like a little pop because um you have just officially passed your first year into an hour in your investment into CFCW. So firstly happy anniversary. Thank you. We can make some like sound effects probably come on. So take us back to the choice because you're a man that I'm sure have a lot of people on the phone to you asking invest in us, pick us, choose us. Apart from our wonderful trophy cabinet and our beautiful city. It's very impressive. But I'm sure they would have, I'm sure they would have swayed you a little bit. What would have what made you be part, want to be part of, of Chelsea? Well, look, you nailed it.

Maybe a year earlier, six months earlier, I attended a closed-door session at Wembley, actually, for a bunch of Premier League owners and presidents. And I was being asked sort of like a fireside chat about women's football and basically just saying, hey, what did you do that made it work with Angel City and what should we do here in the UK? And, you know, it was a great chat. And then at the end of it, I was just like, hey, so, you know, I really, I'm excited about spending more time here. I'd love to get involved with the club. Let me know. And in the next few months, started talking to a number of folks. And so to your point, what I learned, well, okay, one, similar to how I didn't follow women's football, but I knew who Alex Morgan and Megan Rapino was.

Yeah. Even though I didn't really follow English football, I knew what Chelsea was. Yeah. I knew the brand, the legacy of the club, even for a non-frey. football fan like had had sort of bled over to the states big old club isn't it yeah and and so that already having having had the privilege of building from zero right it is a massive cheat code to be able to walk into an organization that already has a tremendous legacy a global fan base and as you said a very full trophy cabinet where it it it I don't say it was a no-brain

but it was pretty close to a no-brainer. It goes back to the point you were making though, right, when you have the business and then you have what you can see and feel. And the opportunity, I think that's the bit, I think I always think about when I'm in my role of like, how do you tell someone that's like, take the football away, what we just spoke about and look at it as a business, if you're an investor.

Yes. But what can you get bang for your book? But then also what comes with it, which is a global proposition. And I think being able to do that and not look at the maybe sport that's in between or the thing that's in between that, the thing that helps bring it to life is is how businesses should be looking at when it comes to women's sport. Not just obviously I'm biased in the game that we're in now of football, but I think that's just women's sport in general.

So I love that you took the time to be over here and like say, see what it is actually like on the ground before you made that leap. I even, I had picked up. So I picked up some merch. I don't think I've told this story. I picked up some merch. I'm a big, exclusive guys. I'm a big baseball cap guy.

Yeah. Very American. I love my ball caps. And I had a Chelsea cap. And I don't know if she, I'm sure she has no idea. Some random lady at a cafe here in London, I was wearing my cap. I go to checkout. And the guy at the counter is like, oh, up the Chells.

I was like, oh, I was like, you're a Chelsea supporter. He's like, yes, I am. And I was like, okay, cool. And I get my coffee. And I turn. And there's this young woman who, she booze me. she goes like this and

and she's a gunner and she tells me that and I'm like oh okay I see you all right but it was such that that was such a strong signal to me that I was making the right choice

because love and hate are there are two sides of the same coin and so in one moment here in London I could have this amazing little exchange with the guy at the register

and at the same time turn my head and have some hater. I mean, she was, she was not being rude. No, I don't know. She did it with a smile. She's not like a bad person type of boo, but it was like a tongue and cheek kind of like, yeah, cool, yeah.

And, but like that, that to me is such a strong signal, you know, and in the same way, actually, it was the haters in 2019 in that tweet that motivated me because I knew there were far more people, to be clear, like Alex, who were in the replies, being supportive, saying, you should do this, like, you know, like really egging me on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I think they were hungry for some serious investment in the women's games.

And, and again, I look for those two signals. I think 15 years I spent building Reddit gave me a spidey sense for intense community energy. Yeah. And I never want to be building something that is bland, that is milk toast. Because that either side of that means you are relevant. You have made something that so many people love and then also that people maybe irrationally. Don't like or just because they're jealous. Have you ever heard of something called Marmite?

Have you tried Marmite? Veggie mite, very similar. The Australians would definitely say there is. So Vegamite's the Australian one. And Marmite's the English one? Yes. But something that we would class that can be love or hate is very Marmite. So most people either love Marmite or they hate it.

That's right. Oh, that's a good phrase. Yeah. Oh, that's funny. I, after a few Australian opens, I had to try Vegamite. And I actually love it. I have a container at home and every night. and then I'll get some nice butter, some sour dough, and I'll...

Oh, that's even more controversial. Do you use butter? Yeah, of course. With the Vegemite. Oh, I do. I'm a butter girl. I'm butter with my peanut butter. Wait, but people do not?

Wait, peanut butter? I'm trying to think if it's salted. If I, normally I think it's salted butter. Sometimes... Oh, it's salted. You gotta... Yeah, I think I use salted butter with the marmite. I mean, unsalted is really just for like cooking.

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campaign and see for yourself. So it's been a year. What is your proudest moment so far since you've joined? Oh my gosh. I mean, I felt so spoiled. We're still chasing our first championship at Angel City. And literally two weeks after the deal is done, I'm holding the FAA cup.

And I felt I was prestigious trophy in English football. I felt so, I was so grateful. Everyone was so kind. Like even Olympia got to shake everyone's hand. This was an amazing experience for me and my family. Wifee is used to get in a bunch of trophies. This was like the first. one and and such an epic like I and it's yours no he's probably like oh that's that's

30 to 31 but I yeah right she's got too many this is too many maybe we'll add it she should add a couple more but the the crazy thing is like it was such a just amazing day at Wembley it was just it was awesome so I feel very spoiled and very fortunate and I'll never forget that and to be able to spend that with my whole family was just awesome and I would say say actually and the other thing would be I I feel like every single time I get to spend not just I mean we brought the whole 7-76 team here we got to go to the last match at Kings Meadow that was amazing but I actually got to spend some time in the south south end south stand South stand and

That's how Stan. And just to get a sense for the community there during a match was very, very cool. And I very much appreciated that folks welcomed me in there. So already made a lot of good memories. And yeah, this is special. I'm very aware of the heritage of this club. And I'm just so excited. I mean, I just even thinking about Stanford Bridge now for next season,

that was something that the ladies, when I asked every athlete I talked to, every one of the players I talked to, this was high on their list of being somewhere that they wanted to be able to play every match at. So glad that's happening. I'm excited for next season. I think this place is going to be rocking. Record season tickets sold already. Let's go. They're still up for grabs all summer.

So a little plug there because we want as many of you in here making as much noise as possible every week. We made Kingsmeadow a fortress. We hope to make Stamford Bridge exactly that. And having your support and everybody else is super, super crucial to that. And on to a personal note. So speaking away from business and football. You're also a husband, a dad, and you speak really openly about being a father. How much is becoming a parent, change your perspective professionally and personally?

I definitely get more done now. I think I'm much more judicious with my time because I know, like I said, my life is either my work or my family. And so I know I'm far more effective now. One, because I just know, like, if I tell my daughter I'm going to be to a third grade graduation, no matter how ridiculous I think it is that there's a third grade graduation, because, I mean, come on, it's just a great. I'm going to be there. Yeah. So I cannot ever make a promise to them that I don't keep.

And so, or, you know, making sure, you know, I'm home at the day. Basically, every night I am home for dinner at like 605 at the latest. Yeah. And it's having those routines and having those rituals, which, again, forces, that constraint. Yeah. makes me able to prioritize better, make better use of my time, and it gives me a bigger purpose. Like, I tried being retired for a couple months, and it was horrible. And I feel, like, I feel so lucky because I get to do a thing that, you know, is able to provide for the family, but also, like, leaves a legacy.

I am so excited that my girls get to see me doing stuff like this because it's an alignment of, business outcomes and like things I actually want them to have in their world when they grow up. Yeah. And especially right now as technology is changing, I mean, every industry. And I still spend a lot of my time. We will be the first check in rocket companies or biotech companies or, you know, hardware, electronics. Like so many different futuristic, almost like science fiction businesses. Yeah.

And then the other half of my time is focused on businesses that I know are going to be even more valuable if we get to that promised land of utopia and sport is one of the crucial ones, right? Every other form of entertainment has a kind of replacement or at least it will have new ways of making

a feature film. You won't need the Hollywood-sized budget to make another Avengers movie because you can use software so much more efficiently to do that now. That means they have to re-underite the entire business model of Hollywood. But on the other end sport, this will never be replaced. And if anything,

I think some of these plays will be replaced. Sorry, guys. These guys will definitely be replaced. But they are not pros. But the stakes of the human endeavor of sport, if you watch a highlight that is AI generated, it does nothing for your soul because it's fake. It doesn't matter how good the quality is.

It does nothing for you. No one wants to watch a bunch of robots play football. Like we are going to 10, 15, 20, 50 years from now, 100 years from now, still be watching humans playing football. The difference is the fan experience will get better, the training experience will get better. This is one thing I'm most excited about. And, you know, one of the areas where the underinvestment in women's sports is, like, there's a little silver lining is when you think about things like training,

y'all have been trained basically like small men. Yeah. Right? You will have heard Emma here's a lot of people probably watching this as well. Yes. A legend. And she's been a pines. about speaking on this.

And this is one area that excites me where we're entering a time where even a thing like computer vision has now gotten so good that off-the-shelf cameras watching a match like this or watching someone on a treadmill can start to give really good feedback about all the, whether it's time spent, ball control, or even just running technique. Loading techniques, angles, bone mass, muscle density, etc., etc., yeah. And because there's no, well, because there's very limited data on this right now. I think there's about 6% medical data in totality that is done on women. That's nuts.

That's not just women's sport. That's just women in general. So to your point, yes. Huge, huge opportunity. And because it's been so underinvested in, there are, there's no one there saying this is the way it's always been done. Which is actually in this case an advantage. You know, if you want to bring the same technology to the men's game, you would have a lot. of people who would just say, well, I don't need this.

Like, we're fine doing it the way we've done it. And so the one advantage to being so underinvested in is there aren't those people because there hasn't been that investment. And there's a chance to build it now, invest those dollars now, and very quickly catch up. Like, it should not be unreasonable to think that in, call it five years, the training, the technology around training for women's football could actually be better than the technology around training for men's. And, you know, it's a long time coming for sure.

But that is one of the silver linings to these breakthroughs in AI and technology that are going to help, I think, help a number of women athletes in a big way. Agreed. And then your busy, your busy, busy professional life, what does Alexis look like when he's at home, apart from making pancakes and watching football? But what's the thing that's your passion point outside of like you get home? I don't know, you put the kids to bed, like, where you've got a weekend off? Like, what does Alexis do to relax? I see you playing golf with the girls. Like, but what is Alexis's thing to like?

It is. His thing, your thing. I really don't have a hobby. It's a, I mean, I, okay. I mean, I, I really do. It's truly whatever, with an eight and two-year-old, it's really like, whatever they're into. And what's nice is as, certainly as Olympia's gotten older, we now have our routines. I take her for golf lessons every Sunday.

Obviously, we do the pancakes on Sunday mornings, crepes on. Saturdays. Like we have mini golf. We'll do like time in the pool. Like I it's it's it is very boring suburban dad type stuff. If I'm really having a night to myself like let's say I'm on a business trip. Yeah. Honestly I'm just going to bed and and like getting a full night sleep like a good meal a great steak like that's that to me is like like a little father's day. Have you found your your steak in London where you go to place? No. Although I'd love some recommendations. I'm not sure. I shouldn't have asked that. We're going to the Bakchanal tonight for that dinner.

Suggestions in the comments for amazing steak places, please. Love a good steak. You know where I go? I take the girls to sketch for tea. Olympia loves a nice tea. The bathroom is so cool. There's always some crazy interior design thing. So it's always, Olympia loves a photo op.

So it's a great, that's always a fun. She's already an influencer hero. Daddy daughter date night. or day trip, yeah. Amazing. I've got two last questions. One's a personal thing and the other's business. I'm going to go business first and we'll finish on a nice note.

If you could speak to as a businessman, as an investor, if you could speak to any brands, companies, investors that want to get into women's sports, obviously it'd be nice if it was Chelsea, but I'm thinking about it, what would you say to them to make them take that leap? It's easy. You still have a window. Who am I looking? I'm looking at this camera.

You still have a window to get in while it's early and then get to take all the credit for being a profit in five years when this gets even bigger. All right. The price is not going down. So, like, this is your chance to look really right, look really prescient and smart. And also the fans of women's sports,

in particular Chelsea women, but all women sports, but especially Chelsea women, have, you're being able to invest not just in a club, but in a community, and they know who is backing their favorite athletes. And they make their purchasing decisions based on who supports the women that they love.

And so, you know, I think about it a lot. I spent 15, 16 years convincing people brands to spend money on Reddit with the hope that, like, hey, you know, this particular community on Reddit will like your brand. But, you know, we had thousands, tens of thousands of different communities. What's so nice about sport,

is I can say this is a community. This is a singular community that cares above all about the success of this club and these athletes. And so you're able to get the scale of a Reddit, millions and millions and millions of fans, but with the laser focus of a club that is values aligned with your brand and that gets you in early to a thing

that, again, in five years, 10 years, the price is going to be way higher. And the supporters, the community is going to remember who was there in the early days. And it's moving quick. And you get to be part of building something, right? True.

How many sports do you get to build? That's right. They're already built. They're already kind of where they are. Then can you change them that much? You're at a point where you get to be part of something and build it from the ground up. Very true. And you get the benefit of a trophy case that's as successful as Chelsea's.

You get the, so you, you, you've already. Oh, substitution. I don't like that, I don't like that substitution call. They shouldn't have taken him off. Oh, I think they've subbed the ref. I know. Wait, they subbed the ref? Really?

Sunstroke, it's over 20 degrees in England. Stop. But I think there is, there's something really special because you're, you know, the, the club is already, it's not like this is a brand new club. This is a club that is legendary, wildly successful, has already led the way in women's football specifically. And you get the halo effect of the association with London. Right. You have English football, which already has this aura to it. And then you have a sport, which is, I mean, it's the most popular sport in the world, right? There are people right now, there are brands right now considering backing a pickleball team. And no disrespect to pickleball, great hobby. But like that is a sport that you're going to have to convince millions of people is a real professional sport. That will take time. Yeah, of course. And so meanwhile, you have the most popular sport in the world with an icon. And I come.

iconic legendary club that has a track record of greatness on the men's and the women's side and you have a chance to be a part of building something that is new because it is a new organization but ultimately has every question like de-risked and solved for so and that's why i invested tens of millions of dollars and why i think brands would be wise to to be a part of this couldn't have said it better myself alexis i do appreciate that and finally yes for all those young girls who dream about being involved in football and they're not necessarily being footballers there are jobs now that we would never have dreamed of or I would have dreamed of walking into. What would your message be to them in terms of football, but also just sport in general.

I think women's sport is growing for all those women that want to be involved in a sport that they are passionate about. What would your advice be to those girls, those young girls that kind of see themselves wanting to do that? Gosh, this is something I should probably do with my foundation. I think this comes up more and more often because for everyone, young girl who will grow up to be a professional athlete, right? There's hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.

More and more now than there was. Yeah, of course. And that's good. This is another fun one. So think about it. The level of competition is going to be then more competitive than ever, earlier than ever. So the level of play you see, when you see Lauren James, you know, rocket it from, I don't know, however many meters.

Like, no, that is the worst it'll ever be. in the sense that right when she was coming up the level of competition she had as a young girl was limited to the young girls who really wanted to play football because again there was not like a professional pathway to fame and fortune there is now and so that means a hundred more a thousand more 10,000 more we'll all make the next lauren james even better so so the quality is only going to get better it's only going to get more competitive but so math will math and that means there's a bunch of young girls who to your point will have to find other careers in sports Very bullish on the industry of sport. As I said earlier, I think it will continue to endure and actually thrive in the age of AI. I think the best advice I have would be stay as close as you can to the sport. Find ways to be useful on and off the pitch. Yeah. And what you'll find right now, because this is in a period of great expansion, there's still not enough talent.

But the infrastructure that exists right now around women's sports, there's like, you just look at something like coaching, right? There is so much more demand than there is supply. Yeah. Because historically, so many of the folks who wanted careers and pathways to be successful in football were on the men's side. And so think of all those talented people who then never, you know, basically moved away from the women's game to focus the men's because there weren't pathways

for careers. So we need more than ever coaching. I mean, front office, even, I mean, like, athletic support, like there is so many different roles. Physios, yes. Massage people, like, nutritionists. All the stuff that people don't even think about, right?

Correct. Ticket in office, like, ticket in people, directors. Yeah, it's a huge opportunity. And yeah, I think it's just been amazing to pick your brain around all the things, well, the mixture of business and football, which is I'm very happy you've invested in. Oh, thank you. Me too.

Share your love, share your power. share your joy and I feel really lucky that you've invested and chose us and I just want to say thank you so much for coming on today and given out of your hugely busy schedule to come and spend some time with us I do thank you also for the sunshine because that doesn't come very often and yeah this has been amazing so thank you so much Alexis I hope you enjoyed it that was amazing thank you thank you for listening to We are Chelsea the official podcast of Chelsea women brought to you in association with SCODA the official car partner for Chelsea women and proud supporters of women's sport.

See you next time.