Mumbai: It looks like the Indian IT giants HCL and Wipro are taking their competition to next level, from industrial rivalry to Football field.
HCL Technologies and Wipro have signed two top teams of English Premier League, Chelsea Football Club and Manchester United respectively.
The reigning champions of the EPL Chelsea signed Wipro as its digital partner, just a day after HCL announced its partnership with ManU.
Chelsea FC, one of the world's top football clubs, will be a fancy addition in the long list of Wipro's clientele that includes several Fortune 500 names such as Citigroup and Cisco.
“Wipro will support Chelsea FC in this transformation journey by bringing together strategy, design and technology,” Wipro said on Thursday announcing the partnership.
Commenting on the partnership, Rajan Kohli, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Wipro Digital said, “Chelsea FC is renowned for its commitment to excellence and developing passionate fans across the world. Their confidence in Wipro Digital is a testament of our value proposition for global sports and gaming entities. Our unique 'Customer Journey Engineering' methodology will enable Chelsea FC to continue to be a preeminent digital brand.”
Christian Purslow, Managing Director, Chelsea FC said, “Wipro is a leading global company delivering world-class services that put their customers at the heart of everything they do – we plan on using this partnership to truly enhance the fan experience for millions of Chelsea supporters worldwide. Wipro's expertise in building winning propositions that sit at the intersection of strategy, design and technology will help sustain our position as the digital leader in global sport.”
Chelsea Football Club is one of the world's top football clubs. Nicknamed ‘The Blues', Chelsea are four-time English Premier League champions and have also lifted the FA Cup seven times, the Football League Cup five times, the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup twice, the UEFA Super Cup once and the Football League Championship once, in 1955.
The Europa League triumph saw Chelsea become the first English club to win all three major UEFA competitions, and the first club ever to hold both the Champions League and Europa League at the same time.
Just yesterday, HCL announced its contract with another top team of the EPL Manchester United, making it the first Indian company to close such deal with an international sporting franchise.
Under this deal, HCL and Manchester United will work together to explore and unveil a number of digital initiatives to transform the experience of the club's 659 million global followers, ManU said in a release on its website.
"It is a very exciting prospect and the possibilities of what we can achieve are endless. Through digital transformation we hope to change the way in which our fans experience and interact with Manchester United. Together with HCL we aim to develop innovative ways to connect with our fans around the world, providing a blueprint for other global organisations," Richard Arnold, Group Managing Director at Manchester United, said the statement.
Media reports pegged the deal's size at about $30 million.
"This partnership is unique and creates value not just for Manchester United and its fans, but also for all forward-looking organizations across the world," said Anant Gupta, President & CEO, HCL Technologies.
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