Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian has purchased a minority stake in Chelsea FC Women, giving him an ownership stake in two of the most-valuable teams in women’s sports.
The founder of venture capital firm Seven Seven Six and husband of tennis legend Serena Williams paid 20 million pounds for a 10% stake in the English soccer team, according to a person familiar with the deal. Ohanian is also a part owner in the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC alongside Disney CEO Bob Iger and his wife, Willow Bay.
Ohanian’s Chelsea deal values the women’s club at 200 million pounds, according to the person familiar, making it the most valuable women’s team in the world based on current foreign exchange rates. As part of the deal, Ohanian will be given a seat on the team’s board.
“I’ve bet big on women’s sports before -- and I’m doing it again,” Ohanian said in a post on social media site X confirming the stake.
Chelsea FC Women have won six consecutive Women’s Super League titles. Ohanian says he see the opportunity to grow a worldwide brand within women’s football.
“I’m confident Chelsea FC Women is the next global women’s sports brand,” he said.
Ohanian told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday that one of the things that drew him to Chelsea was the team’s large social media following. Chelsea FC Women have 4 million followers on Instagram.
“As a social media guy, I look for heat online in the free market of attention,” Ohanian said. “If this were any other type of brand, there is a lot of revenue opportunity there.”
Ohanian also said he believes in the business model and that women’s sports have been undervalued too long. He said brands are only now starting to wake up to that value.
“We will see billion-dollar clubs in women’s soccer one day in the not-too-distant future,” he predicted.
Ohanian left Reddit in 2020 to focus on building a legacy for his two young daughters through sports and other investments.
He said in 2024 he had invested $250,000 from his daughters trust fund into Angel City FC. Ohanian said the investment made them the youngest owners in professional sports and multi-millionaires.
Williams also recently became part owner of WNBA expansion team the Toronto Tempo, and Ohanian has started a women’s track competition.
