Sunset+Vine, the UK production company, will be setting up camp at Stamford Bridge as the newly-crowned FIFA Club World Champions Chelsea return home to complete preparations for the Premier League season with a pair of high-profile friendlies.

The 2025 VisitMalta Weekender will see The Blues go head-to-head with Bayer Leverkusen on August 8th and AC Milan on August 10th, bringing top-tier football to free-to-air broadcaster 5 for viewers across the UK.

Leverkusen were last-season’s Bundesliga runners-up and all eyes will be on new manager Erik ten Hag as he returns to the UK for the first time since leaving Manchester United earlier this year, while AC Milan’s squad includes a number of former Chelsea players including Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Christian Pulisic and Fikayo Tomori.

Rising star Alex Aljoe will take the helm as the presenter for both broadcasts with insights and analysis provided by renowned guest pundits Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Carlton Cole and Steffen Freund. Commentary will be provided by Connor McNamara and Chelsea legend Pat Nevin with reporter Faye Carruthers.

Sunset+Vine will deploy 14 cameras for match coverage and presentation with production led by Executive Producer Stephen Booth – fresh from overseeing Sunset+Vine’s BBC coverage of the UEFA 2025 Women’s Euros – alongside Sunset+Vine’s match director Jamie Oakford, whose credits include FIFA World Cup finals.

With this latest commission, Sunset+Vine’s portfolio now encompasses multiple prestigious football broadcasting contracts, including those for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League on Prime Video, as well as the BBC, FIFA and UEFA.

“We’re thrilled to partner with 5 to bring the excitement of these high-profile friendly matches to a 5 audience,” said Peter Angell, Sunset+Vine CEO. “Our team is the best in the business of football broadcast, and we look forward to delivering the engaging viewing experience that Sunset+Vine is renowned for in football.”

“We want to deliver established premium-quality football programming with the extra insights that these friendly games can provide,” says Raphael Pendergast, Acting Head of Sport, 5. “As a major player in elite football coverage in the UK, Sunset+Vine was the natural choice as our production partner for these exciting fixtures.”

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Categories: Press Releases

Tags: Channel 5, Chelsea, Sunset+Vine