By Andrew Warshaw
August 27 – India could represent the next major market for the world’s leading clubs to promote themselves, according to Manchester United who have just signed a three-year partnership with high-performance manufacturers Apollo Tyres Ltd. Last week’s high-profile announcement between the two parties was one of the first initiatives between an Indian multinational and a global football brand and United’s group managing director Richard Arnold says it could act as a precedent for rivals to follow.
India may be better known for sports like cricket and field hockey while at domestic level football is struggling to break through. But the passion for the major European leagues amongst the population is huge.
“We are not (represented) in every country in the world and partnerships such as this, bringing us closer to fans in India, is hugely important,” said Arnold. “United have always had a tendency to try and be the first to do things.”
A household name in India with revenues of $2.34 billion, Apollo Tyres is breaking new ground in order to raise awareness among international customers, business partners and consumers. But the deal is just as vital for United.
“From a sporting point of view there has always been a strong participation across India,” said Arnold. “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.”
Arnold stopped short of saying if and when United might visit India to play exhibition games but said he would try to make it happen. “We need to try to avoid the monsoon season but we’d love to go there at some point.”
Apollo has a manufacturing presence in Asia, Europe and Africa and exports to over 100 countries. Its global aspirations took a huge leap when it announced in June that it was acquiring US-based Cooper Tire for $2.5 billion. As part of the United deal, the company will build “Go The Distance” football-based play zones made entirely from recycled tyres, to be rolled out in local communities.
Apollo’s chief marketing officer Marco Paracciani told Insideworldfootball the company deliberately chose football over cricket to promote its product. It wasn’t difficult, he said, to persuade United to choose Apollo as its official tyre partner in the UK and India since all multinationals, he said, were starting to develop some kind of strategy in growing markets like India or China.
“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,” said Paracciano whose company will have a significant digital presence as part of the United partnership in order to create fan engagement and awareness. “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.”
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