MSC Cruises suspends marketing activities with Chelsea FC

MSC is the official global cruise partner to the football club in a multi-year deal planned to run until June 2024

MSC Cruises will “temporarily withdraw” marketing activities with its partner Chelsea FC, following the sanctioning of club owner, Roman Abramovich, in response to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

In a statement, the cruise line said: “Chelsea Football Club has a been a long-standing member of the football family with widespread appeal both locally and internationally which is why we decided to partner with the club. We look forward to the transition of ownership and will continue to support the club and its fans.

“In the meantime, we have decided to temporarily withdraw the marketing activities included in our partnership until further notice and we thank the team at Chelsea Football Club for their understanding.”

The partnership began more than three years ago, and in November 2021, a three-year extension to the partnership between MSC Cruises and Chelsea was agreed.

The collaboration includes LED perimeter advertising, VIP hospitality, star player engagement as well as a dedicated digital marketing presence.

SIGN UP NOW: GET THE CONNECTING TRAVEL DAILY NEWSLETTER

Meanwhile, global hotel search platform Trivago has said it will continue its partnership with Chelsea FC.

It said last week in a statement: “The uncertainty over the current ownership situation of Chelsea FC has been challenging. Moving forward, it is important to us to continue supporting the club, the fans and community along with the essential work that the Chelsea Foundation does to help those in need.

“We are looking forward to a transition of ownership as soon as possible and want to support the club in this process. We will provide any update to our business relationship if and when appropriate.

“As a company of global citizens, we cannot condone the unprovoked and catastrophic invasion of Ukraine. We believe in a free world, freedom of speech and peace. We continue our efforts together with our teams to support the humanitarian efforts and to ease the suffering of the affected population. We stand with Ukraine.”