The return of competitive football, the return of fans, the return of the European Champions. August promises to be an exciting month, and here we round up everything that is happening in the world of Chelsea over the next 31 days…
Final pre-season push
Our second and penultimate pre-season fixture takes place at 3pm tomorrow, Sunday 1 August, at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal are our opponents in the Mind Series fixture, with the game available to watch live on the 5th Stand App and this website at a cost of £7.99.
Fans who purchase the live stream for the game against Arsenal will also be able to watch Chelsea Women face Arsenal Women in their pre-season fixture at 12.15pm. Both games will be available to watch live, with the stream starting from midday.
Then this coming Wednesday 4 August, football returns to a full-capacity Stamford Bridge! Tottenham are the visitors for another Mind Series fixture, this one kicking off at 7.45pm.
Before the action on the pitch starts, there will be pre-match entertainment culminating in the Champions League trophy we won in May being paraded around Stamford Bridge for the first time. It will be carried around the pitch by one member of Thomas Tuchel’s squad, who will also be taking part in a pitchside question and answer session about that fantastic European triumph.
Before that, our ever-popular mascots Stamford and Bridget will be welcoming fans to SW6 while being joined around the stadium by football freestylers, face painters, balloon artists and a magician.
Tickets for the game are still available to purchase for season ticket holders and members. For those who can’t attend, there will also be a live stream, priced at £7.99. Coverage starts at 7.20pm.
Super start
Our competitive campaign begins in Belfast on Wednesday 11 August when we will be aiming to win the Super Cup for the second time in our history.
The game at Windsor Park begins at 8pm, with Europa League winners Villarreal standing in the way of our second trophy of the year.
Then the league action gets underway, and it’s a traditional 3pm start on Saturday 14 August as we welcome Crystal Palace to SW6 for our first competitive game in front of a full house since March 2020.
The men’s team schedule continues with a pair of big away games. The first is at Arsenal on Sunday 22 August (4.30pm), and the second at Anfield as we play Liverpool on Saturday 28 August (5.30pm).
European adventures planned
The draw for the 2021/22 Champions League group stage takes place between those fixtures, at 5pm on Thursday 26 August. As holders, Chelsea will be in Pot One.
We can also expect to find out our Carabao Cup third round opponents late in August, with the date for the draw to be confirmed.
Open training
Also in August is an open training session at Stamford Bridge, now on the morning of Wednesday 18 August. Season ticket holders and members can get a ticket for free here.
Women warm up
With plenty of players at the Olympic Games taking place in Tokyo, Chelsea Women’s season doesn’t start until September. However, they do have a couple of friendlies lined up this month, starting with the game at Arsenal tomorrow, taking place before the men’s contest, and also at the Emirates. Kick-off is 12.15pm.
Then, on Thursday 12 August, Emma Hayes’s side will play Rangers at their training centre. The game is behind closed doors, but will be available to watch for free on our website, YouTube channel, Facebook page and the 5th Stand App, from 7.25pm that night.
Academy action begins
The new campaign does get underway for our development squad and Under-18s. These are the fixtures they have to look forward to:
Development squad
Under-18s