(Football news) The government of the United Kingdom has made amendments to Chelsea’s operating licence, which means that fans can now buy tickets for certain matches and the club has access to £30m. As per Section 10.3 of Chelsea's amended operating licence, it says: "Under this licence, subject to the conditions below, the Parent may pay the Club up to £30,000,000.00 in respect of cash flow or liquidity issues faced by the Club."

Chelsea’s parent company is Fordstam Ltd which is owned by Roman Abramovich and was sanctioned by the UK government on March 10th. As per the amendments of the licence, Chelsea fans can now buy tickets for away games, cup matches and women’s fixtures. As a result, fans will be in attendance for Chelsea’s FA Cup semi final match against Crystal Palace at the Wembley Stadium on April 16th and 17th. However, only season ticket holders and those who purchased the tickets before the sanctions were imposed are eligible to watch Chelsea’s home games at Stamford Bridge.

Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said: "The Government has today made alterations to the licence to Chelsea Football club so that fans will be able to access tickets to away matches, cup games and women's fixtures. I would like to thank fans for their patience while we have engaged with the football authorities to make this possible. Since Roman Abramovich was added to the UK's sanctions list for his links to Vladimir Putin we have worked extensively to ensure the club can continue to play football while ensuring the sanctions regime continues to be enforced." 

A spokesperson said: "Chelsea FC have requested and the Premier League agreed that this revenue will be donated to charity to benefit victims of the war in Ukraine. The beneficiary charities will be announced in due course after consultation with the club." This means that revenues from future FA Cup and Champions League matches will go via the Premier League to the relevant organiser or the home team as per the sanctions. However, fans can continue to buy home and away tickets for the Women’s Super League and the Women’s FA Cup tickets will be sold to the competition's organiser rather than the club itself.

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