Bharti Airtel, Asia’s leading integrated telecom services
provider, today announced a five-year partnership with Manchester
United.
This partnership will enable Airtel customers across India, Sri
Lanka and the Seychelles will get exclusive access to rich and
exclusive United content on their mobile phones.
In addition, Airtel users will get opportunities to participate
in training sessions with Manchester United Soccer Schools coaches,
to attend matches at Old Trafford and travel into Europe with
United to UEFA Champions League games.
The announcement was made at Old Trafford by Sanjay Kapoor,
Deputy CEO, Bharti Airtel in the presence of
United’s David Gill (CEO), Richard Arnold (Director of Commercial),
Sir Alex Ferguson and players Darren Fletcher, Wayne Rooney and
Carlos Tevez.
“We are very excited to partner with Manchester United, a
powerful global brand with huge following across the world and in
India,” said Sanjay Kapoor, Deputy CEO,
Bharti Airtel.
“Football is definitely seeing a growing interest amongst the
young population in India. Therefore, we are making a pioneering
effort to bring to them rich football content on their mobiles, a
fantastic opportunity to be part of the world’s leading football
club through participation in Soccer Schools, and also an
opportunity to watch matches across Europe.”
David Gill said: “Manchester United is delighted to announce the
partnership with Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecommunications
company and one of Asia’s emerging global brands. This partnership
demonstrates the enduring strength of the Club internationally.
“We are very proud to have Bharti Airtel as the first Indian
company to partner with United. This major partnership will bring
the action and the passion of United directly to the millions of
our fans across India and other Asian countries.”
On whether the partnership could help develop Indian football,
Sir Alex Ferguson said:
“Cricket may be India’s number one at the moment but I think
football is accelerating fast behind it as an emerging sport.
“I hope that maybe some day we will see a young Indian boy in
the red strip at Old Trafford because one thing that’s always true
of young people is that if you give them an opportunity, they
surprise you. Hopefully more young players in India will now get
the opportunity to become part of a strong sport.”
The rich and exclusive United content for Airtel customers will
include video highlights of Barclays Premier League and
UEFA Champions League matches, classic goal
clips, match reports and editorial features plus a range of popular
downloads including mobile games, ringtones, animations and
wallpapers.