Kozhikode, July 19: Gokulam Kerala FC and its fans will be part of the Indian Olympic Fan Army, an Inititative by MPL Sports Foundation, to give the Indian Olympic team its own fan group. MPL Sports Foundation is the Principal Partner of the Indian Olympic contingent to the Tokyo OIympics.
Fans of both the current champion clubs of the two premier football leagues of India are part of this movement. FC Goa, the ISL champion and Gokulam Kerala FC, the current I-League champion, are bringing in their combined might to this massive fan initiative.
Besides Gokulam Kerala FC and FC Goa, two-time IPL Champions, Kolkata Knight Riders is bringing all its fans together to be part of the Indian Olympic Fan Army.
Real Kashmir FC, the I-League club that has been celebrated for bringing hope and transforming life in the Kashmir Valley, has also joined this initiative to support the Indian Olympic team.
The fans of Shillong Lajong FC, the first football club from the North East, to make a mark in the national club football, are also joining in.
While Indian sports clubs and teams have historically had their own fan bases, the Indian Olympic team, which has brought glory to the nation on the highest stage of world sports, has never had any fan army. The Indian Olympic Fan Army will be a 25 million fan base of some of India’s most celebrated sports teams across India.
“We are proud to be part of this initiative. As a football club we believe that we have to back our athletes. We will ask our fans to support the intitiative and we use our social media platforms to amplify the reach of the initiative,” said VC Praveen, the president of Gokulam Kerala FC.
“It is a matter of great honour and privilege for us at the MPL Sports Foundation that all of these illustrious clubs, franchises, and fan groups have come together to make India’s first Olympic Fan Army. We will rally behind our athletes as they seek to make the entire nation proud at
Tokyo. Here’s to our heroes,” said Sai Srinivas, Trustee, MPL Sports Foundation, and Co-founder and CEO, Mobile Premier League.
As Tokyo remains out of bounds for spectators and keeping in mind the covid restrictions in India, this will be a virtual fan movement.
There are various activities planned including a call out to the entire fanbase to become fans of the Indian Olympic team, know them, watch their events and cheer for them. A large engagement exercise has been planned with the fans submitting their fan moments through photographs and videos.
