Strasbourg fans to join Chelsea supporters in London for April BlueCo protest

London is bracing for an unprecedented cross-border fan demonstration on 18 April as supporters of Chelsea and French side Strasbourg prepare to march shoulder-to-shoulder to demand the exit of BlueCo, the American-led consortium that owns both clubs.

Organisers from NotAProjectCFC, the Chelsea supporters’ group that staged a January protest before the Brentford match, say this will be the first time fans from two BlueCo-owned teams have united in a single action. Ultra Boys 90, Kop Ciel et Blanc, Fédération des supporters du RCS and the Pariser section—Strasbourg’s most prominent fan collectives—will fly into the capital to join a march toward Stamford Bridge ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League meeting with Manchester United.

A statement posted on NotAProjectCFC’s X account framed the demonstration as a watershed moment: “As a result of the continued erosion of values at both football clubs, we have decided to come together to take action with one clear, unified message: BlueCo Out. We believe this could be a seismic moment in the history of football, where fans of clubs from separate countries will come together to do what is right not only for our clubs individually, but for the sport more widely. Together, we can force change.”

BlueCo, fronted by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, acquired Chelsea in 2022 and added Strasbourg to its expanding portfolio a year later. Since then, 12 players have shuttled between the clubs by the close of the 2025 summer window. January’s managerial merry-go-round—when then-Strasbourg head coach Liam Rosenior was promoted to replace Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge—intensified resentment among Alsace supporters who fear their identity is being subsumed into a transatlantic experiment.

Chelsea’s recent on-field woes have only fuelled supporter anger. The Blues were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Arsenal in the semi-finals before suffering their joint-heaviest Champions League defeat, an 8-2 aggregate loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16. Strasbourg, currently eighth in Ligue 1, remain alive in both the French Cup and the Conference League, yet fans argue that competitive results mask deeper structural problems under BlueCo’s ownership model.

The January protest drew only around 200 participants; organisers hope the Franco-British alliance will deliver far greater numbers and global attention when the teams walk out on 18 April.