Chelsea Ladies Is Now Chelsea Football Club Women

Women's Super League champions Chelsea Ladies has got a new empowering name. The players are  now members of the new renamed team, Chelsea Football Club Women, BBC reported.

"We believe this is an important step for the evolution of our women's team," Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck said

According to the club, the change in name promotes the "ever-growing status" of the women's game.

As part of the move, Chelsea will no longer refer to the men's team as the "first team" , The Independent reported.

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"The change will see us move away from consistently referring to our men's team as the 'first' team, acknowledging the ever-growing status of women's football, and Chelsea within it," the Blues said on their official website.

Buck said: "We are incredibly proud of their achievements to date and are fully committed to being a force for good in women and girls' sport."

There are now only nine WSL teams with women in their name, of which five are in the top tier

Chelsea's name change comes a year after their London rivals Arsenal dropped 'Ladies' from their name and became Arsenal Women.

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Chelsea won the Women's FA Cup and the WSL title  and also reached the Champions League semi-finals.

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"This name change demonstrates the club's desire to put women's football at the front and centre of everything we do," manager Emma Hayes said.

"Chelsea's continued commitment to the women's game is unwavering and this decision is something I fully support."

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Feature Image Credit: BBC