Cleartrip has announced its strategic association with Minerva Punjab FC as the official travel and hospitality partner for the upcoming season of the I-League. Under the year-long association, Cleartrip will sponsor hotel hospitality for the Minerva Punjab FC team in Ludhiana, Kolkata, Kochi, Shillong, Aizawl, Imphal, Goa, Chennai, and New Delhi during I-League matches. Cleartrip Local will be the exclusive ticketing partner for Minerva Punjab FC for all nine of its home games under the partnership, which will be valid from November 1, 2017 to October 31, 2018.
Ankit Rastogi, vice president – hotels, Cleartrip, said, “Just two seasons after making its national-level debut in the I-League 2nd Division and one year since breaking into the topmost tier of Indian club football, Minerva Punjab FC has already carved its reputation as one of the most exciting teams in the country. It has a dynamic mix of promising, talented Indian youngsters such as Jeakson Singh, the country’s first goal scorer at the FIFA World Cup, and skilled international players like Toshiya Hosoe and Chencho Gyeltshen. We are delighted to be associating with the club and look forward to playing our part in its meteoric rise on the national stage.”
“Cleartrip has been supporting young and talented teams across multiple sporting disciplines, such as rugby, through various association formats. Through our partnership with Minerva Punjab FC, which is our first with a football club, we are extending our full support to a dynamic and extremely ambitious bunch of young players. Football, as a sport, has been rapidly gaining popularity in India. The country needs more sporting heroes across various disciplines that it can look up to. This is why we aim to continue supporting sporting talent across the country, helping and nurturing promising young sportspersons to realise their full potential,” Rastogi added.
Ranjit Bajaj, CEO, Minerva Punjab FC, commented, “Minerva Punjab FC is a brand new team of youngsters looking to make their presence felt in the top club-level football contest in India. We will need all the support we can get during the league, which is why we have partnered with Cleartrip, the foremost name in the country’s travel and hospitality sector. The partnership will not only aid us in our endeavour to shape our talented bunch of youngsters into winners, but will also help our young side in gaining more exposure and visibility in the markets that Cleartrip is operational in. We are confident that, with industry leaders such as Cleartrip in our corner, the youngsters at Minerva Punjab FC can and will make their mark against some of the biggest football stars in the country.”