By IANS,
Manchester: Indian telecom major Airtel Friday signed a five-year telecom partnership deal with top English premiership club Manchester United.
The deal was announced by club chief executive David Gill at Old Trafford and Airtel’s deputy chief executive Sanjay Kapoor in the presence of manager Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.
“Manchester United is delighted to announce the partnership with Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecommunications company and one of Asia’s emerging global brands. It demonstrates the enduring strength of the club internationally. This partnership will bring the action and passion of Manchester United directly to the millions of fans across India and other Asian countries,” Gill said.
With the deal, Airtel customers across India, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles will get exclusive access to rich football content of Manchester United on Airtel mobile phones.
Airtel users will also get an opportunity to participate in the Manchester United Soccer Schools program, and to watch football matches at Old Trafford and travel to Europe to watch Manchester United play the UEFA Champions League.
“We are very excited to partner with Manchester United, a powerful global brand with huge following across the world and in India,” Kapoor said in a statement in Delhi.
“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 football matches across Europe,” he said.