Dubai, UAE - Official Branch  No 52 - History

The Dubai branch of the Chelsea supporters club was set up by Tim Ansell in 1999. His enthusiasm at bringing together Chelsea supporters scattered around Dubai was inspiring to the rest of us. The club became an official affiliated branch of the Chelsea FC supporters club at the start of the 2000/2001 season. During the Emirates sponsorship a number of players visited Dubai who agreed to meet the club members.

In January 2004 Tim sadly, due to other commitments had to step down from the secretary position. An extraordinary AGM was called to elect a new secretary; I took over for the remainder of the season. The next AGM was held in September 2004 whereby I was voted to continue as secretary of the DCSC.

We charge a modest membership fee and presently have a paid-up membership of 50, we expect this to grow over the coming season. The membership is made up of Full members Family member junior members and even overseas members. The DCSC currently assists supporters in Bahrain and Baku. DCSC as a group travel back to at least one game per season, some of the members make frequent trips back. I managed to get to 10 games last season. All tickets and memberships are processed through me.

We meet for the matches at the club venue Fibber Magee's on the Sheikh Zayed Road (behind Jumbo Electronics and National Bank of Dubai) in Dubai. televised games have increased and in the previous season 2005/2006, all the games were shown Live, this has helped the supporters club grow. We communicate by e-mail and SMS during the week, we also have a website (www.dcsc.info) which keeps the club members informed of match viewing times and any social events and just general banter.

The time difference for the kick-off for Saturday and Sunday games is at a reasonable time usually 18:00 or 19:00, Early kick-offs normally at 16:30 and recorded games 22:00. The midweek games are usually at 23:30, but the support is still strong.

The Dubai Branch is the only official Chelsea supporters club in the Middle East. The future aim will be to provide a focal point for other Chelsea fans in the region. It also provides a contact point for fans travelling through or visiting Dubai.

The 2006/2007 season will soon be upon us and I'm sure we would all hope that Chelsea can maintain their form, and the DCSC continues to grow and develop. My job is to keep the momentum of the club going and ensure members are kept up to date of social and club events.

We look forward to welcoming all Chelsea fans in Dubai

Lee Sporle
Secretary of the Dubai Chelsea Supporters Club - 2006