Chelsea have announced that their women's team will play all Women's Super League matches at Stamford Bridge from the 2025-26 season, ending a nine-year tenure at Kingsmeadow. The club's chief executive, Aki Mandhar, said the decision reaffirms their ambition to make Chelsea the leading women's sports club in the world. "Playing WSL matches at such an iconic ground ensures our players and supporters have the arena they deserve as we look to propel the game into its next phase of growth," she said.
Kingsmeadow, which has a capacity of 4,850 including 2,265 seats, has been the team's primary home since 2016 and is usually sold out for Chelsea women's matches. The club played their final game at the ground on 6 April 2025, beating Tottenham 2-1 in the Women's FA Cup semi-finals. Chelsea have gradually increased their use of Stamford Bridge, playing four WSL matches there this season and three last season, while all Women's Champions League fixtures have been held at the stadium due to Uefa regulations. The remaining two home games of the current season are already scheduled at Stamford Bridge.
Our commitment reaffirms our ambition and intent to make Chelsea the leading women's sports club in the world.
Manager Sonia Bompastor described the move as bittersweet but a natural step. "We will always feel a special connection to Kingsmeadow and everything our fans, staff and local community have helped create for us to stand here now, committing our future to Stamford Bridge," she said. Chelsea Fan Advisory Board representatives called the move 'a natural step' in the club's growth. Kingsmeadow will continue to be used by Chelsea's academy teams. Making Stamford Bridge their permanent home has been a target of Mandhar since she joined in September 2024.
The announcement comes during a challenging season for Chelsea, who have fallen behind some rivals after an unbeaten domestic treble in Bompastor's debut 2024-25 campaign. The team are set to relinquish their six-year hold on the WSL trophy and will not compete in the Champions League semi-finals. Swedish players Nathalie Björn and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd are among the squad. The exact capacity of Stamford Bridge is reported as 41,000 by the BBC, while Swedish outlet Fotbollskanalen states 'drygt 40 000'.
Playing WSL matches at such an iconic ground ensures our players and supporters have the arena they deserve as we look to propel the game into its next phase of growth.
At Chelsea we are never done growing and pushing progress to take the game and women's sports to new heights.