India is the third largest democratic country in the world and that is why it has the second largest population too, but looking at the level of soccer in this part of the world, it is rather pity, however, there is no scarcity of fans loving English Premier League; perhaps there are more fans in India for league matches than anywhere else. Looking at these figures, defending league champion Manchester United is now trying to expand its fans base in this region as well. We all know United is running through lots of sponsorship deals in China and other eastern countries, but this is probably the first time when Reds have signed a contract with Indian tyres manufacturer Apollo Tyres Ltd. This could be a path breaking step by Old Trafford club, coz, until now, these big babies used to mark their presence only on those places where football is among top two sports while India is famously known for its cricket and hockey madness, yet in some parts of India, there are many small clubs who organize domestic leagues every year which is widely ignored by the media coz of fans’ addiction to rather biggest soccer events, like EPL.
Apollo is a household name in India with a turnover in excess of $2.34 billion; perhaps it is among the top tyres manufacturers known for their creative designs and quality products and with this deal they too are optimistic to expand their customer base to European countries as well though they already have a reach to more than 100 countries around the world. United’s group managing director Richard Arnold is very confident that their initiative will be followed by other league clubs, he said, “We are not in every country in the world and partnerships such as this, bringing us closer to fans in India, is hugely important. United have always had a tendency to try and be the first to do things.
“From a sporting point of view there has always been a strong participation across India. In certain areas football is by far and away the most popular participation sport. Increasingly there are more members of FIFA than there are of the United Nations. The best things are built over time and with over a billion people in India, football there will be another case of that.”
Marco Paracciani, the chief marketing officer at Apollo, accepts using United as their primary route to raise their cognizance in the English market, he said, “I don’t know whether we have started a trend but what I can say is that our ambition is to become a global brand. We have been looking for opportunities in the UK and nothing comes much bigger, from a sporting standpoint, than United who have a fantastic track record. They are very ambitious and aggressive – just like us.”