As women's football in India continues to move forward together, a marketing workshop under the UEFA Assist Programme was organised virtually for representatives from women's football clubs across the country on Friday.
47 participants took part in the online event, which was also attended by Hesterine De Reus, UEFA Assist Expert; Chris Milnes, International Relations Project Specialist, UEFA; Bai Lili, Head of Women's Football, AFC, along with other representatives from UEFA, AFC and AIFF.
The three-and-a-half-hour-long comprehensive session opened with an address from Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF, who talked about the 'important role' of women's football and sport in general, along with its tremendous potential.
"I'm very happy to be a part of this workshop. Women's football has a very important role to play in the overall strategic plan of the federation and that is the reason for us to be hosting the upcoming AFC Women's Asian Cup and FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2022, and developing the Indian Women's League. We are also taking part in the AFC Women's Club Championship 2021 Pilot Tournament along with the introduction of Club Licensing for women's teams, which is a critical objective," Das said in an official AIFF release.
The interactive workshop was conducted by Geoff Wilson, UEFA Assist Expert. It kicked off by covering the various elements of a marketing plan, such as defining objectives, defining the target market, developing the brand, tone of voice, resources and budgeting, creating a timeline, etc.
The participants exchanged thoughts and suggestions actively, as they discussed numerous topics and ideas to increase fan engagement, building communities, developing brand identity, improving the matchday experience for fans, developing players as influencers, and generating income through sponsorships and other streams.
Sunando Dhar, CEO Leagues, AIFF, issued the closing address and talked about the future plans of providing a structure for women's football right from the age of six to the senior level.
"I thank our friends from UEFA and AFC for sharing their experience and expertise with the clubs. Such workshops help everyone and I hope the clubs have learned a lot from this experience. Women's football is something we are very focused on and we understand its potential in Indian football. We hope to build on this and continue moving forward together from here," Dhar stated.
( With inputs from ANI )
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