Chelsea’s Catarina Macario Talks About Serena Williams’ Impact on Women’s Sports and Chelsea’s Future

Chelsea and United States women’s national team forward Catarina Macario said she feels Serena Williams’ new affiliation with her club perfectly encapsulates the upward trajectory of women’s football.

In May, 23-time Grand Slam singles winner Williams’ husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, announced he had purchased a reported 8-10% stake, worth around £20 million ($26.87m), in the six-time reigning Women’s Super League (WSL) champions.

The couple flew over for the FA Cup final four days later at Wembley — where Macario scored in the 3-0 victory over Manchester United — on a weekend Ohanian predicted his new investment could become a billion-dollar operation.

“This is a win for women’s football,” Macario, asked about Williams’ presence, told PA. “It’s a win for women’s sports.

“It doesn’t really matter who you root for, it’s just to have someone like that back the game, back the women’s game, it’s just tremendous.

“It’s amazing. It’s so cool. We all know who Serena is, she was a role model growing up, and to have someone like her be part of the team and the club is an incredible support.

“I think it really shows how far the game is going. I think people are starting to wake up and know, actually, this is very profitable.”

Chelsea get their title defense underway with Friday’s WSL season opener against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Macario joined Chelsea from Lyon in July 2023 but did not make her debut until March 2024, scoring six minutes after coming on against Leicester to end a 20-month recovery from serious injury.

The U.S. forward is no stranger to relocation. She moved to the U.S. from Brazil at age 12, a period she said was a “very tough, very difficult transition which required a lot of sacrifices from myself and my family.”