When Chelsea were promoting the game with Arsenal in Orlando back in 2022, as a club, we could guarantee fans would see two of Europe’s best teams, watch some of the continent’s greatest players and be able to live out their dream of finally seeing the Blues play. But finding true love? Well, surely that is pushing it too far. 

However, that is exactly what happened to Emma Cahyani and Sergio Medina when they attended the game against Arsenal at the Camping World Stadium on July 24 2022. 

Emma, who currently calls Yogyakarta, Indonesia home, was living in the States at the time as part of her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction when she found herself standing next to IT manager Sergio Medina, who is from Las Vegas and now resides in Washington DC. 

We will let the pair pick up the story from here…

Sergio: I have been a Chelsea fan since I was a kid and as I became older and got my career, I was able to start travelling to watch Chelsea and joined the Chelsea in America group. 

The game in Orlando back in 2022 was my second match of the summer and the day before I went to grab some food in this ramen place when the person in front of me, Emma, noticed my Chelsea jersey and asked if I was going to the game. Well, the conversations just sparked from there.

We obviously weren’t sitting together at the match but we met up after and spent some time together before deciding we would stay in touch. 

Emma: It is unbelievable. Whenever I tell anyone how we met through Chelsea, they all say that it is fate because I have loved Chelsea since I was in middle school around 2006 when I saw Frank Lampard during the World Cup. I never thought I would go to a Chelsea game and actually meet someone.  

I had moved to Columbus, Ohio, in August 2021 on a guest scholarship to do my master’s and I never thought that Chelsea would tour the US while I was there, so as soon as I saw they were going to Orlando for the game in 2022, I immediately booked my ticket. 

I find it so funny because when I was younger, I would imagine what it would be like to have a Chelsea fan as a boyfriend, where we could go to games together, and now it is happening! It is unbelievable.

I went back to Indonesia at the end of May 2023 so Sergio visited in November, which meant we were able to watch the Chelsea game together on the TV, and there are times when I will watch the game in Indonesia and he will watch in the US and we will be exchanging texts during the matches. 

Sergio: Now we are in the early stages of arranging a trip to London together to watch a game this season – potentially the Aston Villa fixture in November -  so I can’t wait to share that experience with Emma. 

I am part of the official Chelsea in America Washington DC supporters group so I go maybe once a month to watch a game with them. I also travel a lot for work so I try to watch Chelsea in lots of other pubs across the US. 

Not to mention this summer I will be going to the Club America game in Atlanta, the Columbus match against Manchester City and the Charlotte game versus Real Madrid, plus the women’s team fixtures with Arsenal in DC. 

Looking back, having the chance to go to my first Chelsea game in 2022 in London, it was unbelievable because I grew up not really being in a position to go to sports games.  

I grew up supporting Chelsea, watching all their games on TV, playing them on FIFA in these stadiums and then it was all in front of my own eyes. It was amazing. 

Having the announcer say, ‘the players are coming out and there they are right there’, it was quite the feeling. 

Emma: Yeah, it was similar for me. Seeing 63,000-plus people watching Chelsea was almost overwhelming and very moving. Knowing that these were the players I watched on the TV was unbelievable. When I was a kid, I would play FIFA on my phone and the players were almost like characters, yet here they were in Orlando, right in front of me! It was mind-blowing! 

There is such a warm feeling in the stadium. I went by myself to the game but the families around me made a real effort to spark up conversations and make me feel comfortable. I felt so welcome among the other Chelsea fans. 

Chelsea is a way to unite people. I saw in Orlando how people came from everywhere, all coming together, to share our love of the club. It was a beautiful day. 

Sergio: Yeah, I have now watched games with the Washington DC, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Arizona supporters clubs. I have found a community of Chelsea fans and I love going to the pubs with them to watch games and seeing blue everywhere. 

If you have the chance to go to a Chelsea game, whether that is seeing all of the blue at Stamford Bridge or during one of the games across the US this summer, then definitely go.  

There is such a sense of community among the Chelsea fans and it is a real source of happiness for me and so many other supporters. And look at me, I never thought I would actually meet fiancé through going to watch Chelsea!

Chelsea’s USA Tour 2024

Don't miss your chance to make your own unforgettable memories when Chelsea visit the USA this summer.