Colombo, 26 January, 2012: Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced that it has tied up with Manchester United Football Club to bring a variety of benefits for Airtel’s soccer loving customers in Sri Lanka. These exciting benefits will provide Airtel mobile customers in the country with access to exciting benefits like exclusive mobile content, ‘money-cant-buy’ match experiences & more! The announcement was made by Airtel spokesperson Sharan Shetty, Head – Sales & Marketing in the presence of Manchester United legends Bryan Robson and Dwight Yorke at a press conference held in Colombo earlier today.

“Manchester United is a powerful global brand that enjoys a cult following across the world - and we are today excited to announce our association with the club for our football loving customers in Sri Lanka. Football is seeing an increasing interest amongst youth population across Asia and the same fervor and excitement towards this contemporary sport can be seen in Sri Lanka as well. Through our tie up with Manchester United in this market, we look forward to bringing millions of soccer fans in Sri Lanka closer to the action packed world of football”, he continued.

Commenting on the occasion, Ricki Thussu, Relationship Director Manchester United said, “We at Manchester United are delighted to be here and kick off this exciting association with Airtel. This partnership between Manchester United and Airtel is symbolic of collaboration two global brands – both known to be among the best in their respective fields – coming together for their common passion for soccer. We are delighted to announce the foray of this association with Airtel in Sri Lanka and look forward to connecting with fans across the country”

As part of this association, Airtel customers across Sri Lanka will get exclusive access to exciting and rich Manchester United football content on their Airtel mobile phones. In addition Airtel customers will also get an opportunity to watch football matches at Old Trafford and travel to Europe to watch Manchester United play the UEFA Champions League.