With an eye on promoting Indian football, State Bank of India, has entered into a strategic partnership with Jamshedpur FC (JFC), the football club owned by Tata Steel.

The bank on Sunday signed a landmark agreement with the JFC - making it a first major endeavour by SBI in the game of football. With this partnership, SBI will be one of the principal sponsors of the JFC. The partnership was announced in the presence of Ashwani Bhatia, MD, SBI, TV Narendran, CEO & MD, Tata Steel, B. Raghavendra Rao, DMD, SBI, Chanakya Chaudhary, chairman, JFC and vice president (Corporate Services), Tata Steel along with other senior officers from SBI, Tata Steel and JFC.

India has a rich football history and it is a matter of time that the country enters the big stage. There have been rapid strides over the past decade, especially with the advent of the Indian Super League. Tata Steel has been at the forefront of promoting football and has continuously produced champion players over the past three decades via the Tata Football Academy. JFC is a step ahead in the same direction and the packed stands, every year, at the JRD Tata Sports complex speak volumes of the popularity of football amongst its legion of fans. JFC has done incredible work at the grassroots, youth football and coach education, all the while engaging with fans. We also have a long-standing relationship with Tata Steel and the Tata Group and this partnership will help us to promote sports and more specifically football. These reasons made our decision very simple to partner with JFC, one of the top professional football clubs of India,” Bhatia said.

Commenting further on the partnership, Narendran remarked, “We are pleased to have SBI as one of the principal sponsors of the JFC. We believe working with SBI will be a mutually rewarding association, in the years to come. I am sure this partnership will help create great value for JFC including their senior team, youth and grassroots programs, the clubs passionate fan base and set higher benchmarks for the sport overall”

Chaudhary said, “Over the years, JFC has put in massive efforts and strides in community engagement. Our matches at the JRD Tata Sports Complex achieve the highest average attendance in the ISL. Our grassroots programme has engaged thousands of kids in Jharkhand coupled with Tata Steel’s rich history with youth development in football via the Tata Football Academy. Our association with SBI is very encouraging as we aim to achieve success on and off the pitch. We welcome SBI as our sponsor and look forward to our long association.”

The iconic JFC match jersey will now feature the SBI logo. The two brands will also actively engage with fans via the first team and also during the broadcast of Indian Super League (ISL). The interaction with fans will continue on the digital platforms of SBI and JFC as well.