Bengaluru, 4th September 2021: FC Bengaluru United and Spanish LaLiga side Sevilla FC have been nominated for the Best Internationalisation Strategy by the prestigious World Football Summit Awards. The two clubs have been nominated for the award alongside LaLiga outfit Valencia CF and Premier League team Everton FC. The winner of the Best Internationalisation Strategy award, presented by Deloitte, will be announced on 9 September and will receive the trophy during a ceremony on day one of WFS Europe at Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano on 22 September.
Since their inception in 2018, FC Bengaluru United have been on a robust growth trajectory, both on and off the field. They impressed with a strong showing in the I-League Qualifiers in 2020, and earlier this year, were crowned BDFA Super Division League Champions. In what is a strong testimony to their growing process, FC Bengaluru United have been invited to participate in the Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest football tournament, beginning in the first week of September in Kolkata, along with other top-flight Indian football clubs. 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 extremely excited and honoured to be nominated for the Best Internationalisation Strategy by the World Football Summit Awards,” said Gaurav Manchanda, FC Bengaluru United and Nimida Sports Founder. “Our partnership with Sevilla FC marked an important milestone in the way the game of football can grow and expand its horizons. Knowledge exchange and bringing the game close to its fans are just some of the key aspects that such partnerships look to achieve. We are delighted that our joint vision to grow the game with Sevilla FC has been recognised on such a prestigious platform.
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.
Sevilla FC president José Castro was delighted with the nomination: “It is clear that we are taking the right steps in terms of internationalisation. Partnering with FC Bengaluru United meant our entry into the Indian market, which we had set as a strategic objective within our international expansion plan, and now this prestigious nomination clearly endorses our commitment to international growth.”
