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Lionesses' Euro triumph catalyst for Ohanian's Chelsea investment / Photo: Hollie Adams - AFP/File
Lionesses' Euro triumph catalyst for Ohanian's Chelsea investment
Watching England's women's team win Euro 2022 was the "pivotal moment" for attracting Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to the English game and resulted in him taking a 10 percent stake in domestic treble winners Chelsea earlier this month.
His £20 million ($27 million) investment is timely after Arsenal, who finished 12 points off Chelsea in the Women's Super League title race, won the Champions League on Saturday after beating three-time winners Barcelona.
Ohanian -- who sold Reddit for $10 million in 2006 and has since made a fortune in other investments -- has form in investing in women's football teams.
In 2019 he invested in Los Angeles-based Angel City FC and last year the club was sold to Walt Disney Company's chief executive Bob Iger for $250 million.
However, it was England's extra-time win over Germany at Wembley in 2022 that turned Ohanian's head in terms of looking to invest in English domestic football.
"England winning felt like an important turning point in the women's game," the 42-year-old told the Sunday Times.
"Now you had a generation of boys and girls who were so proud —- and it was the women who did it.
"I know how important it was for England to bring it home."
He said his investment had met with approval from his wife, tennis legend Serena Williams, a stark contrast to when she tried unsuccessfully to persuade him not to buy into Angel City.
Ohanian, Williams, dressed in pale blue, and their seven-year-old daughter Olympia were at Wembley last Sunday as Chelsea beat Manchester United 3-0 in front of 74,000 spectators to lift the FA Cup.
Ohanian said the impact 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Williams had made on her sport was the "proof point" for the potential in women's football.
"More Americans this year will watch the US Open women's final than the men and that's incredible," said Ohanian, who lives in Florida with Williams and their two children.
"Thanks to Billie Jean King fighting for equal pay and generational talent like Venus (Williams) and Serena monetising it, they have blown up the sport into national consciousness."
- 'Fanatical about Wrexham' -
Ohanian, whose father is Armenian and mother German, said US women's football has a vastly higher profile than in England.
"It is very much considered a women's sport because we've never had a legacy of excellence on the men's side," he said.
His remarks are reflected by Chelsea, despite their treble exploits in which they also became the first team to go through a 22-game WSL season unbeaten, not even having a permanent home ground.
The two stadiums they play at have capacities of just over 2,000 and 3,000.
Ohanian was coy about whether this scenario could change some time soon.
"I can't give any scoops yet," he said.
"Let's say we want the best match day experience possible."
Ohanian says the success of the men's Wales-based English league team Wrexham since it was bought by Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney shows what can be achieved.
Wrexham sealed their place in the second-tier Championship last month to become the first club from the top five divisions of English football to secure three consecutive promotions.
"If you set aside the (Lionel) Messi effect in Miami (he joined Inter Miami in 2023), there are more Americans who are fanatical about Wrexham than any other MLS club," said Ohanian.
"And how many of those Americans can find Wales on a map? No disrespect to Wales.
"It just goes to show, if you do an amazing job telling the stories of your players and of the community that you represent, you can build an audience an ocean away."
R.Metzger--BlnAP
