FICO and Operation HOPE helped teens and adults understand how to manage money, how credit works and how to be responsible with their finances.

FICO, an analytics software firm that is the worldwide leader in credit scoring, were the primary official partner of our 2023 pre-season tour and heavily involved in all of the cities Mauricio Pochettino’s squad visited up and down the East Coast of the USA during our time across the Atlantic. That included providing educational workshops for people of all ages in three of the locations which hosted Chelsea matches – North Carolina, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Cahill got things started with an event in North Carolina, joining FICO at their Score a Better Future workshop. It was the first of five such workshops taking place during and after Chelsea’s tour of the USA, featuring presentations from FICO and their non-profit financial counselling partner Operation HOPE, educating adults about credit scores and their personal finances.

The day also included the first of the FICO Fundamentals workshops, aimed at young adults and students, designed to teach them about the general aspects of credit, including how to establish it and its everyday role in our lives. The Fundamentals courses also featured a series of football training drills for the young attendees, ahead of Chelsea’s game in each location.

The second Fundamentals workshop took place in Philadelphia and was visited by three of the current Blues players, with Conor Gallagher, Thiago Silva and Lewis Hall - who has since joined Newcastle United on loan - joining the young people taking part in the sessions, both in the classroom and out on the football pitch. Gallagher then returned alongside Ian Maatsen for a further combined Fundamentals and Score a Better Future workshop in Chicago.

In addition to attending the FICO workshops, all the past and present Blues spent time with the people of all ages in attendance, signing autographs and posing for photos, as well as showing off their skills at the football sessions.

'As the creator of the industry-standard FICO Score, the most widely used credit scoring model today, FICO is committed to helping people realise their financial dreams,' said Nikhil Behl, chief marketing officer at FICO.

'Partnering with Chelsea FC has been one of the most exciting programs we’ve ever launched. Thank you to the club, the players and the fantastic fans who made this partnership such a success.'

• For more information about FICO’s credit empowerment program, visit www.fico.com/sabf/.

• For more information about how FICO Scores work, visit www.myfico.com.

• You can discover the wide range of FICO’s solutions at www.fico.com.