They had arrived in California a day earlier to begin the club’s activities in the community.

First up was a visit to Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica to work with Cal South – the local state soccer association – for three hours providing a free coach education session.

In total, 95 coaches from a variety of grass routes clubs were in attendance, gaining a valuable insight into the methods used by Chelsea in training and elite development, as well as taking part in a workshop on individual player coaching within an elite team environment.

It was followed up by a practical demonstration by the Foundation coaches on the pitch, as they put on a training session for a local girls’ Under-14s and boys’ Under-12s team.

‘It’s great to be back on a tour with the team after what has been a challenging time due to Covid,’ said Chelsea Foundation head of international development Ian Woodroffe.

‘The coaches and players really seemed to engage and benefit from the insight and training sessions.

‘It was a great way to start and we are looking forward to the next two weeks, when we’re aiming to engage with over 1,000 players from different backgrounds, as well as more than 300 coaches.’