Chelsea Women will be one of the headlines of the 2026 Sydney Super Cup, facing the A-League Women’s All-Stars in the second edition of the All-Stars concept and one of the most high-profile women’s club fixtures to be staged in Australia.
The eight time Women’s Super League champions will head to Sydney as part of a wider international tour featuring Premier League sides Chelsea FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, alongside Sydney FC and the Western Sydney Wanderers.
Carly Telford, Chelsea’s Commercial Manager and former England goalkeeper, was on hand in Sydney this week to announce the fixture.
Telford is no stranger to Australia having played for A-League Women’s side Perth Glory during the 2012-13 W-League season.
Following a whirlwind couple of days that included the announcement and experiencing some bucket-list activities, Telford took a breath at Circular Quay.
The Commercial Manager reflected on how bringing Chelsea to Australia satisfied both sentimental and strategic goals.
“Soon as I took the job on I was thinking, ‘where can we take the team?’ And this is right on my hit list for so many different reasons,” Telford said.
“Obviously we have Sam Kerr and now we’ve got Ellie Carpenter as well, so we’re bringing the girls home.
“We know how important football is to Australia. What better way to pay Australians back for giving us so much talent in England than to bring the team to Australia to showcase.”
Chelsea’s links to Australia on the women’s side have deepened in the last couple of years. Sam Kerr became one of the club’s marquee players after signing in 2019.
While Matildas fullback Ellie Carpenter has made a roaring start since she joined the squad this season. Former Perth Glory captain and Northern Ireland manager, Tanya Oxtoby, also worked on Chelsea’s technical staff as an Assistant Coach.
When it comes to Sydney, the connections continue with Kerr a long-time player and A-League Women’s Championship winner with Sydney FC and Carpenter a proud New South Welshwoman.
Telford said Chelsea’s ties to Australian players and supporters make Sydney and Australia a natural destination for the club’s next major tour, with the visit offering a chance to reconnect those relationships on home soil.
“Whenever you get your Matildas to come back, I’ve seen on social media what it’s like. I think we’re so blessed to have two of them that play for Chelsea at the minute.
“At Chelsea we’re still looking to have so many fans here in Australia. It’s great that we can finally bring the girls here in real life, in person and get them to do some meet and greets, get them to see the wonderful city, and then get them in a stadium so we can cheer them on.
“Football is a global sport, and we don’t just want to keep it in our countries and keep it locked away in behind a screen.
“This is for those that can’t get to London and can’t get to England, as it’s a far away for a lot of people, but we have fans everywhere.”
This is the second major tour in as many years for club following a pre-season tour to the USA last year.
It is part of the growing demand for women’s football across international markets, with overseas tours becoming central to long-term fan engagement and commercial reach.
“I don’t think I realised how powerful the badge was until I’ve started leaving the country and saying I play or represent Chelsea,” she said.
“The men’s clubs have been doing it for years and years, and I think it’s so important now we do it with the women’s teams so now we bring them to this part of the world as a continuation.”
“There’s nothing better than a club that you’ve supported being able to see them in real life. What do they play like? How do they interact as people like? What do they look like? What do they sound like?
“If you’re a young girl in Australia and you’ve followed these women for so long, or even if you’re just a new fan, to see them living and breathing in real life and playing against some of your Matildas and top players in this country, I just think it’ll be really fun experience to do. So I’m super stoked to bring them over.”
Their Sydney Super Cup opponent, the A-League Women’s All-Stars, was introduced in 2024 to give local professionals a platform to compete against elite international opposition as reward for their performances in the league throughout the season.
Chelsea’s arrival will mark the second instalment of the All-Stars concept and Telford remarked that these matches can be pivotal moments in a player’s development.
“To play against those girls and pit yourself up against some of the best players in the world, from all over the world – Naomi Girma, Alyssa Thompson, Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze – we’re going to bring them all out here and you get to really pit yourself.
“And you can think, “right, I’m good, but how good am I?” I see you Sam Kerr and I’m going to mark you out the game. I see you Lucy Bronze, I’m not letting you past.
“Then your name in the shop window because Chelsea is always looking for talent, so is the WSL. We harness so much talent, and we always want to bring new players up.
“This is to showcase what you can do, in such an incredible stadium, with so many people watching.”
And it’s not just lip service, Chelsea’s 2017–18 tour of Japan is as a roadmap for what these fixtures can create. During that visit, Emma Hayes identified Ji So-yun, who went on to become one of Chelsea’s and the WSL’s defining midfielders.
Telford said the All-Stars format aligns with the globalisation of the women’s club landscape, with the Women’s Club World Cup launching in January and more European clubs seeking to expand beyond traditional markets.
Her own career in Australia shaped her outlook on the sport’s potential and helped accelerate her development.
“I feel like it’s going make me sound so old,” she laughed.
“I was here 2012 season, so a long time, 13 years since I played here in Australia. I think it helped me mature really quickly.”
“I was seen as one of the older ones, or the more experienced ones of the group, which I’d never really done before.
“People coming to you, youngster coming to you and asking for X questions, or what do I do here? How should I do this?
“It really helped me grow up, but also really helped me think that this is something I want to do. I don’t want to shut my door to just being in England. I want to have as many experience as possible and play in as many different countries.
“I’m going back to Perth in a few weeks’ time, and I can’t wait to try and link up with some of the girls and just remember some of those experiences. To go and visit some of those places that I hold so dearly in my heart, because I fell in love with Australia for a lot of reasons.”
Carly Telford represented England (Photo: The Lionesses)
She said the Australian league provided a formative environment that showcased the country’s hospitality and passion for sport.
“I just think that it was an experience that I’d recommended to everyone,” she said. “Go and spend four or five months in Australia. I promise you won’t be disappointed!”
“I just think it’s something everyone should experience, and there’s no better way to do it when you get to travel the world with a group of people that can help you experience what it’s like being in their home city as well.
“Everyone’s so proud to be Australian. It means you get to experience in a totally unique way, which I’m so grateful for.”
Telford said those experiences shaped her career and remain a reminder of why bringing Chelsea to Australia matters, with the Sydney Super Cup now providing the next generation with that same exposure to international football, local culture and elite competition all on one stage.
