About Us

Welcome to BluesMerch — a proud independent family business with a trading heritage spanning more than a century.

The O’Connell family’s story began long before modern football merchandise existed. Our roots can be traced back to Molly Owens from Cork, Ireland, who sold drinks and fruit to spectators attending major sporting events during the early 1900s.

Her hard work, entrepreneurial spirit and connection to the excitement of live sport laid the foundations for what would become five generations of family trading.

A Family Match-Day Tradition

During the 1960s, Molly’s grandson, Michael O’Connell, began selling badges and rosettes as a teenager outside football grounds across London.

By the mid-1970s, the family’s operations had expanded to include trading sites at many of London’s major stadiums, including Stamford Bridge.

It was a genuine family enterprise. Parents, siblings and relatives worked together to produce many of the items sold on match days, including handmade rosettes, flat caps, scarves and flags.

These products combined traditional craftsmanship with the colours, identity and atmosphere of English football.

As street trading became more formally regulated, the O’Connell family were granted official trading pitches by local authorities, often at locations where they had already been serving supporters for many years.

Our Chelsea Stalls

Today, BluesMerch operates two established match-day stalls close to Fulham Broadway Station and Stamford Bridge.

Our original Chelsea trading pitch is located opposite Wansdown Place, adjacent to the junction with Waterford Road.

The pitch was relocated to its present position by the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham around 1999, when the existing buildings at Fulham Broadway were demolished to make way for the new station and shopping centre development.

The family’s second Chelsea location is outside the main entrance to the Stoll Foundation. Michael O’Connell had already been trading at, or immediately outside, this location from the early 1970s, originally displaying merchandise using the traditional board-and-stick method commonly used by street traders at the time.

Over the decades, both locations have become familiar match-day fixtures for supporters travelling between Fulham Broadway Station and Stamford Bridge.

Continuing the Family Tradition

During the Covid period, after approximately 54 years of trading, Michael O’Connell decided that the time had come to step back and not return to the stalls.

The trading licences were passed down to his son, also named Michael O’Connell, who represents the fourth generation of the family and continues to operate both Chelsea sites today.

His children also work within the family business, meaning the fifth generation is now helping to carry forward a match-day trading tradition that began more than a century ago.

While the products and the way supporters shop have changed over the years, the values behind the business remain the same: hard work, quality, fair prices and friendly, personal service.

What We Offer

We work with established football merchandise suppliers and official licensees to offer a wide selection of high-quality, officially licensed hats, scarves and accessories.

Alongside our officially licensed ranges, we also offer a carefully selected collection of unbranded and generic match-day products that reflect the colours and atmosphere enjoyed by supporters, without carrying official club branding.

Whether you visit one of our stalls on a match day or shop with us online, our aim is to provide quality products, fair prices and the welcoming service of a genuinely independent family business.

We are proud of our history, proud of our independence and proud to remain part of the match-day experience at Stamford Bridge.