Days after becoming the first and the only Indian I-League team to play against an English Premier League club — Blackburn Rovers, Pune FC has signed a two-year deal with information technology giant Infosys for an undisclosed amount to promote football in the city.
"It is an absolute honour to tie up with a company like Infosys. The football scenario in India has changed considerably of the past couple of years. Associations between large corporates and I-League clubs will help football become a more broad based and popular sport. We look forward to this being a long and fruitful partnership between both our companies," said Chirag Tanna, Head of Operations of Pune FC.
Speaking about Infosys' foray into football, Mritunjay Singh, Vice-president, Infosys, praised Pune FC for its professional approach towards playing and organising football.
"We are happy to be associated with a club – Pune FC - that has taken serious steps in being leaders to promoting the sport in the way it should be done involving the community and likewise spread the word," said Singh adding that the Infosys would raise the sponsorship amount by 20 per cent in the second year.
Founded in 2007, Pune FC finished third in its inaugural year in 2009 and in 2010 it ended up 5th in the 14-team league.
As part of Infosys' first foray into major league football, the sponsorship deal will entail that Pune FC will sport Infosys logo on the sleeve and on all common branding spots that Pune FC involve themselves.
In turn, Pune FC coaching staff will train Infosys personnel, the IT giant's football team. Also, monthly sessions will be conducted for the children of Infosys employees.