Chelsea FC and Joe Cole launched a unique opportunity earlier this month to help support small businesses in London in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The ‘Proud of London‘ campaign will allow small businesses with under 50 employees to apply for free advertising space on matchdays.

Successful applicants will feature in a branded story on the club’s Instagram page which has over 25 million followers and chosen companies will feature in half-time and full-time posts on matchdays.

Gary Twelvetree, Chelsea FC marketing director said: “Proud of London is our way of showing how incredibly inspired we have been of the city we call our home.

“London is full of creative minds that push boundaries, support each other, and adapt to what has been an unprecedented challenge through the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

“We hope that we can continue to support this great city, just like it has supported us.”

Former Blues midfielder and life-long Chelsea supporter Cole kicked off the campaign starring in a short video celebrating real Londoners who have shown incredible resilience, creativity and entrepreneurship during such a testing year.

The film celebrates the stories of people who have opened businesses, adapted their output to support key workers, helped their communities and inspired through art.

An example of this is Love Triangle Pizza, a business which started during the pandemic and was recognised by Chelsea for their good work in the local community in the short video.

Love Triangle Pizza donate one meal to Wandsworth food bank for every pizza sold, a founding principle of the business.

Co-founder Ben Mason, 40 said: “We’re only seven months old and so we’re still in the very early stages of our growth.

“It’s been great for Chelsea to shout about us on such a big stage.

“Anything that can help us sell pizzas will help raise money for the foodbank, and that makes us really happy.”

Mason described Chelsea’s Proud of London campaign as great and that in times of destruction and sadness, it is nice to see a collection of community-powered positive stories.

Applications for the campaign close tomorrow, and as a small business, you can apply here.