Lord Daniel Finkelstein OBE will take up the role as chair of the Chelsea Foundation, while Barbara Charone will join as a trustee of the charity.

Lord Finkelstein is former executive editor and now a leading columnist for The Times newspaper and has been a Chelsea fan for over 50 years.  

The former adviser to Prime Minister John Major was awarded an OBE in 1997 and made a member of the House of Lords in 2013.

Lord Finkelstein commented: ‘I am delighted to take on this new role. As a fan I have always been very proud of our work in the community. We are ambitious and want to make sure we are leaders on and off the pitch.'

Barbara Charone is a world-renowned public relations professional and is among the most respected women working in the music business, with the Guardian once dubbing her as ‘Britain's most powerful music PR’.

As director and co-founder of one of the country’s leading music PR firms, MBC PR, Charone’s clients include Madonna, Foo Fighters, Rod Stewart, Lewis Capaldi and Kasabian.

After growing up in Chicago, Barbara relocated to London after university and by the early '80s discovered the joys of Chelsea and has been a season ticket holder ever since. Charone also arranged for fellow Blues fan Suggs to sing the famous 1997 FA Cup final hit ‘Blue Day’.

Charone said: 'I’m delighted to become a trustee of the Foundation. Football clubs have an amazing power to positively affect our communities and I know Chelsea are leading the way through the Foundation. As a fan I’ve always been proud of the great work we do and look forward to playing my part in the next chapter of the Foundation’s work.'

Both Lord Finkelstein and Charone are also on the board of directors at Chelsea Football Club.

The Foundation’s Trustees bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the charity and feature some of the country’s leading personalities from the sport and equality sectors:

Emma Hayes OBE is the manager of Chelsea FC Women whose accolades include leading the team to five Women’s Super League titles and four Women’s FA Cup successes, as well as being awarded an OBE for her services to football in 2022.

Piara Powar is the executive director of Fare Network, an organisation set up to counter discrimination in football. Powar’s previous roles include being chief executive of Kick It Out and he has been a long-standing campaigner for equality.

Sir Hugh Robertson KCMG PC DL is chair of the British Olympic Association and former Minister for Sport and Minister for the Olympics where he oversaw the delivery of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He received a knighthood in 2014.