Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is once again throwing open the doors of his club’s hotel for the English National Health Service (NHS) to help heathcare professionals during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Copthorne Hotel, set at Stamford Bridge, will be made available for medical staff in London to ensure they do not need to make long commutes after long shifts, while also minimizing the amount of travel during a period of high transmission in the pandemic.
In addition to offering access to the hotel rooms for NHS staffers, Abramovich will also foot the bill for bed-and-breakfast rates, to enable them to stay and be fed for free. The hotel rooms will initially be made available from now until the next government review of the COVID restrictions in mid-February.
The move replicates a similar initiative from Chelsea’s Russian owner in March 2020, during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in London.
The company that manages the hotel, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, is working with the club and Abramovich’s staff to ensure the facilities are made available to NHS workers.
Elsewhere, Abramovich is thought to be lining up former Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko as a potential replacement for struggling Blues boss Frank Lampard.
