I-LEAGUE Media Team
NEW DELHI: Expect something different taking place when Hero I-League debutantes Bharat FC take on Goan heavyweights, Dempo SC, in the club’s inaugural match of this season at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi on Saturday, Jan 24.
The match, which will kick-off at 7 pm will begin with National Award winning musical duo, Ajay-Atul, performing Bharat FC’s club anthem live before kick-off.
The Club, owned by the Pune-based Kalyani Group, was conceptualized in August 2014, with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) awarding it direct entry into the I-League at the end of August. The team was officially christened Bharat FC on November 23. Since then, the club has rapidly acquired its entire coaching staff along with a robust player roster.
Interestingly, Bharat FC is the first franchise from Pune to be completely owned by the Punekars.
Since inception, the club has spoken about being a ‘club with a difference’. Taking this philosophy ahead, Bharat FC has organized a grand football carnival, replete with numerous games, attractions and pre-match entertainment avenues.
The carnival will be run on a 300-meter road inside the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge-Balewadi. The entire stretch will have a number of stalls with various games which people of all ages can enjoy. This is the first time that an I-League club is organizing such a football carnival for all its supporters who will throng the stadium.
Bharat FC’s official anthem will also be launched 30 minutes prior to kick-off. Celebrated music-composer pair Ajay-Atul will be performing the anthem surrounded by a troupe of more than a 100 dhol-tasha performers. Ajay-Atul said that it was a moment of pride for them to compose an anthem for a Pune-based team and they had come up with a composition that reflected the ethos of Bharat FC.
“The anthem has a very vibrant them and manages to put across the passion and commitment that is associated with Bharat FC. We hope that the people of Pune love the anthem and get behind this special team,” said Atul.
Bharat FC is a club very conscious of its role in the community. In line with this ideology, the club will be screening short videos on important social issues and carrying powerful social messages.
On the day of the inaugural match, Bharat FC will be propounding the importance of cleanliness through a short video featuring many of its first team players. The video will be projected on a giant screen, custom-built to ensure that every person in the stadium will have unhindered access to it.
Over the last 4 days, the Club have put 10 hoardings across the city, one on the expressway, plus 78 movie screens in Pune will be showing the Club’s ad for the next 30 days at each and every movie show at interval. Radio One has been sending out KBFC’s promos 60 times a day, and 25 State transport buses are carrying Bharat FC’s panels. Standees have been put up in each and every multiplex and a lot of schools and colleges in Pune.
(with inputs from Bharat FC)
