Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has hailed the Blues' response to the coronavirus outbreak, saying he is proud to be associated with the club.
Roman Abramovich wasted little time in making the club's Millennium Hotel available for NHS staff, while players have made significant donations to various charities, offered online learning classes for young fans and made phone calls to elderly residents of the area who may be stuck home alone.
Chelsea Football Club is joining the medical response to the coronavirus outbreak in London with the news the National Health Service (NHS) has accepted the Club’s offer to make the Millennium Hotel at Stamford Bridge available for NHS staff... https://t.co/eENBcxRXXX
— Chelsea FC - #StayHomeSaveLives (@ChelseaFC) March 18, 2020
Having seen some of their Premier League rivals face criticism for their response to the situation, Lampard confessed to Sky Sports' The Football Show (via the club's official website) that he was delighted to be part of such a generous club.
"I am very proud to be manager of this club with the way Chelsea have handled it," said Lampard.
"They were very quick to respond to help with the hotel. There is a lot more work they are doing with the Foundation, with link-ups, getting in touch with fans, putting on tutorials with some of the Academy coaches. There are a lot of people at Chelsea who have really stood up and done a lot of good work."
Football is an industry which has come under the spotlight during the crisis, with politicians singling out Premier League players and calling on them to help out financially. Players did reveal the #PlayersTogether initiative soon after to make donations to good causes, and Lampard reiterated feelings that the footballers were always going to help anyway.
"I have been watching it closely with a lot of people talking about it, and I completely understand what a lot of prominent people in football have said: that players will do the right thing," he explained.
"They needed some time, and I think the politicians jumped the gun while things were being prepared. People behind the scenes knew that. It was unfortunate that picture got painted.
❤️ A powerful show support from all players to NHS workers and those on the front-line.#PlayersTogether pic.twitter.com/2VmEbK6Rn5
— Professional Footballers' Association (@PFA) April 8, 2020
"But since then a lot of players and clubs have stood up in a good way. Not every situation has been perfect, but knowing players and how they think, that’s been a very good reaction. It’s ongoing, and it shouldn’t stop. That reaction needs to continue.
"If there is a light at the end of this tunnel, if there are things we can all learn, it’s how we give back and how we stick together. It’s very easily said, it’s much harder done, and I think there have been a lot of good gestures that have shown that."
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Source : 90min