Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!
Related Articles
India’s FC Bengaluru United and Spanish LaLiga side Sevilla FC have been awarded the Best Internationalisation Strategy by the prestigious World Football Summit (WFS) Awards. The award, presented by Deloitte, was announced on September 9; the trophy will be presented during the ceremony on day one of WFS Europe at Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano on September 22. With this recognition, FC Bengaluru United have become the first football club from India to win the prestigious World Football Summit award.
Since their inception in 2018, FC Bengaluru United have witnessed a robust growth trajectory, both on and off the field. They impressed with a strong showing in the I-League Qualifiers in 2020, and last season, were crowned BDFA Super Division champions. In what further underlines their growing prowess, FC Bengaluru United have been invited to participate in the ongoing Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament being held in Kolkata, along with other top-flight Indian football clubs. In only their maiden appearance, FC Bengaluru United have become the first team to enter the knockouts, having won back-to-back league matches against CRPF (2-0) and IAF (4-2). The club has also garnered praise for their holistic vision of promoting the sport right from the grassroots.
In January this year, FC Bengaluru United announced their partnership with LaLiga giants Sevilla FC, a five-year agreement, which focuses on technological innovation, development and projects in the sport as well as increasing the Spanish football club’s footprint in one of the world’s most vibrant and rapidly growing football markets.
“We are honoured to have won the Best Internationalisation Strategy award by the World Football Summit Awards,” said Gaurav Manchanda, FC Bengaluru United and Nimida Sports Founder. “To have our partnership with Sevilla FC recognised on such a prestigious forum is a great validation of all that we had set out to achieve. It gives us great motivation to continue in our efforts to grow the game of football. FC Bengaluru United is also the first football club from India to win a WFS Industry award and it is a moment of great pride for an Indian football club to have achieved this global recognition.”
“Putting the spotlight on Indian football – whether on the field through FC Bengaluru United’s performances, or off the field with our partnership with Sevilla FC to help the game grow – has always been our long-term vision,” said Debjit Datta Chaudhuri, co-owner FC Bengaluru United. “To be recognised for our efforts by a prestigious body like the World Football Summit is a moment of great pride and honour and we are indeed thankful for it.”
Created in 2017, the WFS Awards recognise and reward the work carried out by professionals in the different fields and sectors of the football industry. Previous winners of the award include LaLiga and RC Celta Vigo. The winner of the award is judged on the basis of their presence in new markets, business scalability, brand expansion, new sources of income, business diversification, use of technology involved to develop and implement the strategy as well as CSR initiatives involved in this strategy.
