The next in our series of Premier League programme reviews sees us turn the spotlight on the issue from Chelsea.
Read our review of the Blues’ issue below and take a look at all of this season’s programmes on our 2025/26 page.
Chelsea 2025/26
Chelsea’s programme continues the same format as the last few seasons, offering just 52 pages (and 39 pages of content) for the £4 price-tag – giving this issue the lowest ‘value score’ of any in the league. Nevertheless, the programme is well laid-out and offers a decent amount of reading.
There are a couple of key features within each issue. ‘Over Land and Sea’ is a four-page article that tells the stories of former Blues from different parts of the world, including interviews with the key players. ‘Legacy’ is another four-page feature that examines various aspects of Chelsea’s history, often related to the day’s opponents. Each issue also includes an interview with a member of the current first-team squad, and ‘In Focus’ – a short profile of one Blues player currently making the headlines. The other recurring article is ‘Through the Sun and Rain’ – which features the recollections of long-standing Chelsea supporters.
The opposition section is perhaps the most limited of any issue in the league – with the main two-page spread offering only basic biographic detail for the visiting team’s squad members, alongside a form guide and a formation graphic showing the team’s most recent league line-up. There are a couple of pages showing Chelsea’s head-to-head record against their opponents, together with various stats such as ‘milestone matches’ and recent meetings of the two clubs.
In terms of club information, each issue offers columns from the club’s manager and captain, a page on the Chelsea Foundation, two detailed pages for each of the club’s teams – the women, under-21s, and under-18s – and a detailed stats section towards the back of the programme.
The Chelsea programme is certainly well-designed, with a series of clean page layouts. The majority of the content is presented with black text on white backgrounds in a simple, two-column format. The programme also flows well, with related features grouped together. However, the programme is held back by the limited page-count relative to the other issues in the league.