Chelsea Football Club has announced a new partnership with AllBright, a global leader for gender equality in the workplace and the leading network for women and their professions.

The announcement represents another significant and exciting step forward in the development of women forging a career in sport, with a strong commitment from both partners to inspire diverse, high-performance sports teams as well as developing female leaders in all sectors of the industry.

AllBright believes that encouraging empowerment through football, getting more girls involved from an early age, and keeping women in the game for longer are all key elements to career success.

The partnership will see the AllBright logo proudly displayed across pitch-side LEDs, interview backdrops and video screens at Chelsea Women’s home fixtures, introducing AllBright to football fans all over the world.

Chelsea and AllBright will collaborate on a range of partnership activities, and exclusive experiences for players, managers, fans and club members that will focus on growing the AllBright brand globally, from leadership development opportunities for women across the club to Player of the Year awards that celebrate on-pitch success. Both parties will look to nurture the growth and development of the women’s game and careers in sport, on and off the pitch.

AllBright’s support also extends to programmes designed to help athletes in their careers and beyond, through AllBright Alliance - a global collective of leading businesses committed to creating unlimited possibilities for women and their careers. As a founding member of AllBright Alliance, Chelsea FC Women players will gain access to AllBright’s career development programmes, tailored to support them for life after football.

Speaking about the launch of the partnership, Viv Paxinos, AllBright chief executive officer, said: ‘Our partnership with Chelsea Women is an incredibly exciting moment, and we are thrilled to be associated with one of the biggest teams in Europe as we embark on the next stage of our growth globally. Women in sport is a top priority for AllBright, and we will work together with Chelsea Women’s team to increase participation, enhance the opportunities for women in sport and strengthen the structures surrounding women’s football to ensure that everything we do has maximum impact.

‘We look forward to making football more accessible to girls and women and to encourage female empowerment, a subject of great importance, now more than ever before.’

Jo Stone, director of HR at Chelsea FC, commented: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with AllBright and a founding member of the AllBright Alliance, which demonstrates our commitment to developing female leaders at the club.

‘With access to leadership development programmes, eLearning and networking opportunities we look forward to developing our female leadership on and off the pitch. Through the Alliance we will have access to a wide range of emerging and established female talent to engage with careers at the club. This is an exciting time for the club to play our part in promoting and supporting career development at all levels for women and drive our collective success.’

Emma Hayes, Chelsea Women manager, said: ‘We’re proud to be a founding partner of AllBright Alliance. As a club, supporting and nurturing the career paths of our employees and of our female players is a top priority.’