( AFP ) - Premiership football power Chelsea announced Thursday the launch of a US web site that club chief executive Peter Kenyon hailed as a key innovation after US visits for the past four years.
The site is the first of its kind for a European football squad aiming at a purely American audience with special content.
"I am delighted that Chelsea is again breaking new ground, this time by engaging with our fans in the United States in a way that no other football club currently does," Kenyon said in a posting on the team's website.
Chelsea's tours have included matches against US sides, including the Los Angeles galaxy debut of England star David Beckham last July.
"Each time the interest in us has grown significantly," Kenyon said. "This latest project is a chance for fans to become more intimately involved with the club on a members site that has been built for and caters directly for them.
"We recognize the cultural differences between UK and US fans so content from grassroots to elite level will be delivered in a way that the American fan will relate to more."