How Apollo Tyres is championing the cause of popularizing football in India

Football is a growing sport in India and despite budding interest from fans across the country; the sport is yet to percolate to all parts of the nation. Organisations like Apollo Tyres have played a big role in the growth and development of football in India, sponsoring leagues and teams to help popularize the riveting game in the country.

As part of its efforts to help Indian Super League become more popular and reach out to as many fans as possible, Apollo Tyres has partnered with the league and come up with the Apollo Tyres Half-Time Spectacle. This one-of-a-kind initiative is designed to mesmerize the ISL audience during a match, while at the same time encouraging young kids to get inspired by, and embrace the sport.

The tie-up with ISL involves Apollo Tyres working on fan interaction and engagement across cities where the matches would be held to help in the growth of the Indian football story. It brought on board some of the world's best freestyle footballers to entertain, enthral and inspire young children to take up football as a profession.

Apollo Tyres also signed on to become Chennaiyin FC's principal sponsor, making it their first partnership with an Indian football club, working with them so that they get to know their fans better, engage and interact with them and make the fan experience, a perfect one.

The brand’s relationship with football clubs outside India has already been great, as they have always looked forward to work with established global powerhouses. Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Borussia Monchengladbach are three famous clubs that Apollo Tyres has partnered with.

With Crystal Palace, Apollo Tyres focused on increasing fan presence and interacting with fans, in a better manner. As part of the agreement, Apollo Tyres has a significant presence in the club's Premier League and Champions League matches, and has worked to ensure that the club develops a closer bond with the fans. It has also made inroads into the German Bundesliga, as well as with Borussia Monchengladbach, working to help the club become more popular and earn more fans.

Apollo Tyres' biggest partnership in the football industry is with Manchester United, as it initially signed on as a regional partner in 2013, before becoming the club’s Global Tyre partner from 2016 to 2019. The English Club is one of the most popular and keenly followed clubs in the world, and Apollo Tyres has extensively helped them branch out in India and add to the club’s already extensive fan base. Currently, the brand helps United extend their fan interaction and advertising, to over 100 countries. It helped the Red Devils create football pitches out of recycled rubber in India and the UK, calling it "Go the Distance”. It organizes a week-long football camp for young kids in India in conjunction with Manchester United Soccer Schools.

Apart from these initiatives, Apollo Tyres has also partnered with one of the I-League clubs, Minerva Punjab, as their title sponsor for the next five years. With the brand’s prior expertise with major football clubs, it’ll help Minerva expand their fan base in North India. Its biggest contribution to the development of the sport in India perhaps would be helping football flourish at the grassroots level, and with Minerva, Apollo Tyres has the perfect opportunity to see this vision through.

Throughout the last few years, Apollo Tyres has been very actively involved in helping the sport of football grow in India and with their recent ISL association; it’s taking the same idea to the next level, especially with amazing initiatives like the Apollo Half-Time Spectacle. Getting world-famous freestyle footballers like Aylin Yaren, Kitti Szasz and Kalina Matysiak to perform, isn't an easy feat, but Apollo Tyres managed to do that and treated Indian fans to a football delight!

As they aim to get more and more involved at the grassroots level, Apollo Tyres would hope to keep reaching to as many fans as possible so as to inspire more and more youngsters to take up football as a profession! It really is, as the tagline says, Going the Distance to make football India’s favourite sport!