The full story of Chelsea cannot just be told here in London, or even England, with some of our greatest triumphs coming on foreign soil, but also a host of our dedicated supporters living overseas.

Often with big time differences and even bigger distances to overcome when following the Blues, our foreign fans nevertheless continue to show their support passionately whenever and however they can.

One such fan is Dexter of the Los Angeles Chelsea Blues supporters club in California, USA. As unlikely as it seems, he owes his support to the recommendation of a fan of one of our Premier League rivals, which came with perfect timing.

‘Growing up I had a friend in high school whose dad was from Manchester, so he grew up a Manchester United fan,’ explains Dexter, recalling how his passion for the Blues began, despite the more than 5,000 miles and a seven-hour difference between London and Los Angeles.

‘My buddy was always talking about the Premier League. We never knew what he was talking about so eventually he got tired of watching the sport alone and sat us down to tell us we had to follow it with him.

‘He gave us each a different team to follow and mine was Chelsea, so I started watching some games in the local pub in Pasadena called Lucky Baldwin’s. This was during Jose Mourinho’s first season, 2004/05, so lo and behold Chelsea win the league. It was a good time to start!

‘Then in 2006 Chelsea came out here on their summer tour. I was graduating from high school and got into UCLA, where Chelsea were doing a lot of their training on campus. So I would go up there to watch some training, and I went to an appearance they made in Santa Monica and got photos of Mourinho, John Terry and Didier Drogba.’

However, that was just the beginning. Since that start, Dexter has found a whole community of like-minded Chelsea supporters in Los Angeles to watch matches and share his passion with, as well as bringing his family on the pilgrimage to Stamford Bridge.

He explained: ‘That’s where the journey began with me and everything kicked off following Chelsea after that. I just kept getting more into it, and ended up going pretty deep down the rabbit hole.

‘I started waking up as early as 4am to watch games, watching them at local pubs. A few years after I started supporting Chelsea I found the LA Chelsea Blues and I met a lot of friends through that. I eventually became the club secretary for that group for about six or seven years, until my second kid was born.

‘I’ve been over to London a couple of times too, as recently as Boxing Day this season, when I came over with my wife and two kids for the Fulham match. It was an unfortunate ending but it was still a great experience. It was my six-year-old son’s first match at the Bridge.

‘The previous time I’d been there was actually part of my honeymoon, when Mourinho came back as Man United manager the first time in 2016. That was a great experience, my wife and I had a blast! But to have it now where I get to go with both of my kids too is just awesome.’

As well as getting to enjoy those family days at the Bridge – the cornerstone of many Chelsea fans’ support, whether they live in London or overseas – one moment in particular stands out as a highlight during Dexter’s time following the Blues, even if it wasn’t easy for him to witness it.

‘That first Champions League win, after all the ups and downs of 2012, was so insane,' he said. 'I was working an event that day but streaming the game on my laptop. As soon as Drogba stepped up to take his penalty my screen froze!

‘Then the stream picked back up just in time to show Drogba running away crying and I realised we had won. Then I started crying! That was such a crazy victory, I still get chills, even talking about it now.’

Victories like that, along with football’s growing global appeal, has also seen the number of Chelsea supporters Dexter has to share those moments with in LA increase dramatically over the years.

‘We must have 400-ish people in the group now, at the very least. When we did the watch party for the last Champions League final in 2021, we had to get two different pubs to show the game, because there too many people to fit everyone inside one pub.

‘That absolutely was not the case back in 2005 or 2006 when I started watching, so it’s grown a lot.’

If you are a Chelsea supporter living in the LA area, or even just visiting the city, and fancy joining the Los Angeles Chelsea Blues to watch a game, look them up online or you can find them in Joxer Daly’s pub in Culver City on matchdays.