Chelsea lead technology push with Strava and IFS deals

Chelsea have launched an official presence on Strava, becoming the first Premier League and Women’s Super League club to establish a global club on the fitness and activity platform.The move is part of a wider technology strategy that also includes a multi-year agreement with IFS to embed Industrial AI across Chelsea’s business operations.Chelsea brand director Scott Fenton said: “We are always looking at ways we can use our global brand to bring people together, often in unexpected ways.“By working with Strava and becoming the first Premier League and BWSL teams to establish an official presence on Strava, we can lean into participation culture, understand where our fans are while offering new experiences for them and strengthen the bonds that unite our global community.”The Strava launch gives Chelsea a direct digital community channel built around running, training and wellness.The club will use the platform to connect supporters through movement-based challenges, shared activity and fan participation rather than conventional content distribution.The initiative places Chelsea inside a platform used by active consumers and gives the club a way to extend their brand into lifestyle, fitness and community participation.That is commercially relevant as clubs seek to build engagement outside matchdays, broadcast windows and mainstream social media platforms.Strava also offers Chelsea insight into supporter behaviour around sport and movement, creating opportunities for future digital activations and partner campaigns.The inclusion of both the men’s and women’s teams makes the launch a club-wide engagement platform rather than a single-team activation.Mel Jarrett, director of athlete and community partnerships at Strava, said: “Chelsea FC joining Strava as the first Premier League and BWSL team to establish a global club on the platform is a powerful demonstration of how brands are engaging with their communities.“We believe shared passion for movement creates real connections, and this collaboration brings that to life for Chelsea's global fanbase. We can't wait to see The Blues' community connect through movement together.”Chelsea are also moving into the next phase of their partnership with IFS, which will deploy Industrial AI across the club’s internal business functions.The IFS agreement builds on the global partnership announced by Chelsea and the enterprise software company in February.IFS technology will initially be used across finance and procurement, giving Chelsea real-time visibility over financial operations and greater automation of manual processes.Chelsea chief financial officer Adriel Lares said: “Advanced technology is transforming the way businesses operate and we are excited to be moving into the next phase of our partnership with IFS to realise the opportunities AI software presents.”The procurement rollout will cover supplier onboarding, contract management and spend visibility, creating a more structured system for managing commercial and operational expenditure.Chelsea and IFS also plan to extend the technology into asset management and facilities operations across a phased implementation.That would make the platform relevant to stadium, training ground and wider club infrastructure management, as well as back-office administration.IFS chief executive Mark Moffat said: “Chelsea FC operates in a world where performance, precision and pressure are non-negotiable.“That’s exactly the kind of environment where IFS Industrial AI thrives and delivers. This partnership will demonstrate to the world what’s possible when elite ambition meets industrial-grade AI.”The two initiatives show Chelsea using technology across both sides of the club’s business model.Strava is designed to support fan engagement, community building and digital brand reach, while IFS is aimed at internal performance, process control and operational efficiency.Chelsea will use their Strava presence for fan challenges and participation-led engagement, while the first phase of the IFS rollout will focus on finance and procurement.