Driving forward: Celebrating 30 years of the Chelsea Women

From tackling the lack of investment to the lack of popularity of women’s football for many years, Hayes remained at the heart of the operation, being the key figure in transforming this club into one that looks nothing like the one that kicked off on October 4, 1992. Finishing second in the 2014 campaign was the catapult that launched the Blues into a completely new stratosphere. Ji So-yun may have left the club this past summer to head back to her home country, but her move to the club in January 2014 was an intricate part of Chelsea’s history. As one of the world’s most talented midfielders, her willingness to join the Blues made the rest of the world take it seriously, and the dominoes would fall from there.

It is extremely difficult to sum up truly how much this club’s women’s team has gone through but at the end of the day, there is still growth yet to be done. Hayes is a manager who is obsessed with winning, and while one day she may have to pass the torch on, her character and attitude will live on through the club. From playing in front of just a few dogs to becoming part of the Chelsea family, and securing their own home in London, the Chelsea Women have come more than just a long way over the past 30 years.

As women’s football continues to take jumps in popularity, the ceiling for this team is limitless. From where it started to what it is now, the Blues have taken what was an ambitious start-up project at the time and turned it into a team that every club around the world fears on its fixture list.