chelsea fc job openings benefits and entry level jobs

Honestly folks, when I first saw those Chelsea FC job openings posts floating around, I gotta admit I got proper excited. Always been a fan, right? Dreamed of working at the Bridge since I was a kid kicking a ball against the garage door. So last Tuesday morning, after chugging my third cuppa tea feeling proper done with my dead-end admin job, I decided: today’s the day I actually look into this properly.

Started simple. Straight to the club’s official “Careers” section – easy enough to find. Scrolled past the flashy graphics and manager quotes about “playing for the badge”. Real stuff was underneath, in the listings themselves. Tripped over my own feet rushing to grab a notepad and spilled tea everywhere. Typical.

The Dig Begins

First things first: entry-level gigs. They were buried. Found ’em though. Stuff like:

• Receptionist (Matchday & Office) – basically smiling at stressed fans and putting calls through.
• Kit Room Assistant – hauling sweaty gear around, laundry nightmares probably.
• Ticket Office Junior – dealing with queue rage when big games sell out in minutes.
• Groundskeeping Apprentice – mowing that famous pitch at crazy hours.

Looked promising! Clicked one. Took an age to load – must be tons applying. Then, the “Experience Required” bit hit me like a Lukaku shoulder charge. Even for “entry-level”, most wanted 1-2 years already doing similar stuff. Mate, if I already had experience doing tickets or kit, why’d I be looking for entry level? Felt a bit deflated.

Hunting for the Perks

Okay, maybe the benefits make up for it. Benefits. Searched the whole page. Found a generic page titled “Why Join Us?” Felt like opening a Christmas cracker hoping for a good joke, got a dud.

The Good (Proper Fan Stuff):

• Free/Cheap Tickets! (Boom! This is massive if you live and breathe Chelsea. Imagine watching Prem games without selling a kidney!)
• Discounts on Club Merch – Could finally get that £100 jacket for maybe £70? Still steep, but better.
• Health Stuff – Mentioned “Private Medical Insurance” – sweet! But then tiny text: “…for relevant roles.” What’s “relevant”? No idea. Could mean managers only.

The Meh (Or Proper Annoying):

• Pension Scheme – Standard legal stuff these days, mate. Like bragging about having chairs.
• “Opportunity for Development” – Vague. Means maybe they’ll train you, maybe not. Sounds good on paper.
• “Dynamic Working Environment” – Probably just means it’s chaos and you’ll be running around.

The Shocker: Buried deep in the FAQs about the application process… Most matchday roles were Zero-Hours Contracts. So no guaranteed work each week? Gotta be joking! How you meant to pay rent? Also, tiny asterisk: Some roles may require weekend and evening work. Well, yeah, it’s football! When else would they play?

Actually Giving It a Go

Feeling sceptical but buzzing about the tickets discount, I picked the Matchday Receptionist role. Filled out their never-ending online form. Asked me everything from my mum’s maiden name to my GCSE Maths grade? Took ages. Uploaded my CV – the one that mostly just lists working Saturdays at Tesco.

Then came the killer questions:

• “Please describe your experience dealing with high-pressure situations.”
• “Outline your previous customer service roles in detail.”
• “Why do you want to work specifically for Chelsea FC?”

Stared blankly at the screen. High-pressure? Once dealt with a queue at Tesco when the self-checkout broke. Customer service? Scanning beans and saying “cash or card?”. Why Chelsea? Because it’s Chelsea! Wrote it all down proper honest like. Took over an hour.

Submitted it. Waited. Radio silence so far. That was a week ago. Check my email constantly. Nothing. Not even a “Cheers, we got it.” Sigh.

Why Bother?

Truth bomb time. If you’re a proper die-hard Chelsea fan, getting staff tickets and maybe 20% off a shirt is actual magic. Being inside Stamford Bridge when it’s buzzing, even just answering phones? That’s a dream if football’s your life.

But… is it a proper job? For most of those entry roles? Nope. Likely irregular hours, not great pay (£10-£12 an hour was mentioned, London min wage is £11.44!), fierce competition, contract uncertainty. They can afford to be picky, so they are. You’re basically paying with your time/labour for access.

Morale of my whole messy practice? Unless you’re young, living nearby, desperate to be inside the club every week, and don’t need steady money or benefits right now… maybe look elsewhere for a stable gig. Football’s a business, massive one. They know fans will put up with dodgy contracts and low pay just for the badge. Bit of a reality check, really.