Chelsea looking for Bollywood play

Major European Football Clubs are now eyeing Bollywood as its brand ambassador to attract both non-resident South Asians as well as to grow its brand franchisee in the sub-continent. According to Peter Kenyon, CEO of Chelsea F.C. (Football Club), the winner of UEFA Cup twice and current FA (Football Association) Cup champions, the FC plans to engage more with Bollywood.

The current population of Indians in the UK is estimated at two million, of which nearly 40% live in London and the greater London area. Chelsea has an estimated 3.8 millions fans in the UK and 20 millions fans worldwide according to independent research by SPORT+MARKT, the leading German research company.

Chelsea FC has already worked with Yash Raj Films’ Jhoom Barabar Jhoom where in Abhishek Bachchan plays a die hard Chelsea fan. The film has shots of Chelsea FC training premises in Fulham Road, London during training session.

On the other hand, UTV’s soon-to-be-released Goal has roped in winners of 16 Premier League titles Manchester United F.C. Bollywood actor John Abraham is a UK-based Asian football player in UTV’s Goal, which centres around Southall United, a struggling football club in London.

The £200-million Chelsea FC plans to coach Indian football coaches and bring Indian football to world class level. On a visit to New Delhi on Monday, Mr Kenyon told ET that the premier club plans to invest in coaching