A large number of European clubs look to be making plans to equip their stadiums with the latest technology. Real Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Inter Milan are to name a few who have long term plans in place for complete makeovers.
Chelsea had a more immediate change in mind which they have managed to implement as well.
In partnership with their principal shirt sponsor Three, a British telecommunications company, the club announced on Thursday that Stamford Bridge had officially switched to a 5G network.
The London club have become the first Premier League side to switch on 5G across the entirety of the stadium.
Three customers with a 5G device can now enjoy speeds of up to 250Mbps that allows faster upload and download speeds, browsing and even HD streaming, as per Chelsea’s official communication. Fans can now enjoy the rapid connectivity on matchdays thereby enhancing the viewing experience at the Bridge.
However, it must be said that the technology’s innovation was rather overshadowed by that of the marketing manoeuvre employed to make the announcement. The club invited 5 former Blues- Gianfranco Zola, Eiður Guðjohnsen, William Gallas, Geremi, Rob Green – the 5 G’s to make the announcement.
Gianfranco. Guðjohnsen. Gallas. Geremi. Green.
— Adam Newson (@AdamNewson) February 10, 2022
I see what you did there, @ThreeUK. https://t.co/Gls5wlTS8a
The 5 former Blues came together to present the custom Chelsea home kit inscribed “5G” on the back, with each of the Gs sporting one themselves. The quintet played at the Bridge during various spells between 1996 and 2019, with Rob Green being the latest who retired from football at the club in 2019 following Chelsea’s Europa League triumph.
The highspeed connectivity now awaits the team’s return to London upon the conclusion of their Club World Cup campaign.