As part of their tour of Asia, Chelsea have set up sessions at all of their stop in which local charities select some kids to have a clinic with Chelsea players. It turns out that some promoters in Indonesia were actually charging up to £1500 for the right to participate in the event, while the club didn't want any fees involved. They had the following to say about the matter today:
"We were made aware today that a number of people were being charged a fee for access to certain non-match day events during our stay in Jakarta."
"While we understand this is accepted practice in Indonesia, it does not fit with our tour philosophy of ‘Here to Play, Here to Stay’ which works towards leaving a lasting legacy in countries and communities we visit. Therefore, anyone who bought a ticket for one of these events will be refunded, and granted ticketed access for free."
I like the approach of simply issuing the refunds themselves, instead of arguing with the promoters for months on end while their fans were the ones that lost out. While it may cost the Blues a small amount of cash, it's good PR and it's sending the right message.
Fans in Thailand had an opportunity to take part in a similar event, and those in attendance had a chance to meet Josh McEachran, Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Gary Cahill. All told, just over 50 kids were invited to the event.