Barclays Premier League on India promotion tour

Barclays Premier League on India promotion tour

Fifa World Cups

MUMBAI: Barclays Premier League is on an India promotion tour. Barclays, the official sponsor of the soccer league, has announced the Barclays Premier League Trophy four-city tour.

The trophy will visit different parts of the country.

The Trophy‘s tour has started in Mumbai and will be here till 12 December, in Chennai on 13 December, in Pune from 14- 16 December and in New Delhi from 17- 18 December.

Barclays together with the ex-India internationals will also conduct a football coaching clinic for a group of underprivileged children of the Magic Bus foundation in Mumbai on 11 December.

The Barclays Premier League Trophy was unveiled at Mumbai in the presence of senior Barclays officials including Barclays Wealth MD Satya Bansal MD and Barclays Corporate MD Karan Bhagat. Also present at the Trophy unveiling were former Indian soccer players such as I M Vijayan, Jo Paul Ancheri, Kiron Khongsai, Ilyas Pasha, Aqueel Ansari, Bhaskar Maity, Sanath Seth, Godfrey Pereira, Jamshid Nassiri and Bernard Pereira.

The owner of Churchill Brothers football club Churchill Alemao was also present. The Indian footballers and club owner were felicitated by Barclays for their contribution to the development of the sport.

Barclays Bank CEO India Mani Subramanian said, “Our association with the Premier League which started way back in 2001 has been one of the longest sports sponsorships for us. This association has made Barclays synonymous with the Premier League and it helps us connect with millions of people, clients and more importantly football fans not only in regions where we operate but also in regions where people love and follow the Barclays Premier League.”

Barclays had renewed its global title sponsorship of the Barclays Premier League in October 2009 with a new deal worth ?82.25 million, which runs until the end of the 2012-13 season. By the end of the new sponsorship deal, the Barclays Group will have been the sponsors for 12 years from 2001 to 2013. Manchester United is the most successful Premier League team having won the title 11 times and never finishing outside the top three. More players appearing in the 2006 and 2010 Fifa World Cups from this league than any other domestic football league.

Barclays has invested over ?37 million through its ‘Barclays Spaces for Sports programme’ that has created community sports sites and projects around the globe including 200 in the UK. Besides it has also created sites in Zambia, South Africa, and the USA with new football programmes continuing to be rolled out internationally.