Payments supplier Paysafe has announced that its digital wallet brand, Skrill, is the official sponsor of Chelsea FC’s pre-season tour, as the club embarks on its annual summer journey to the US ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Originally incepted in 2001, Skrill operates under the Paysafe umbrella and will act as the primary presenting partner of Chelsea FC’s opening pre-season fixture against League One side Wrexham AFC on Wednesday 24 July. The match will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California – as the payment platform looks to enhance its brand recognition on the North American continent.
As part of the agreement, Skrill and Paysafe’s online cash solution has also been made available as a payment method for Chelsea FC’s online store for the remainder of the year.
In August of 2021, Chelsea FC also entered into collaboration with Parimatch as part of a three-season deal, which reached its conclusion at the end of the most recent football season.
Commenting on this latest deal, Casper Stylsvig, Chelsea Chief Revenue Officer said: “We’re delighted to welcome Skrill onboard as Official USA Pre-Season Tour Partner of Chelsea FC. We admire their company ethos of offering customers an agile and adaptable approach to financial services, and they’ll provide fans with great opportunities to interact with Chelsea across multiple touchpoints."
For Paysafe, this latest deal closely follows the launch of its ‘Pay by Bank’ product for US iGaming, as the company seeks to improve its position in the US market.
Rob Gatto, Paysafe’s Chief Revenue Officer, commented on the new arrangement, saying: “Our Skrill digital wallet is truly a game-changer for Chelsea fans’ matchday experiences, empowering them with many ways to pay for merchandise quickly and securely, and with all transactions completed through a single tap on their smartphones, so no action on the pitch is missed.”
