Indian Super League side Hyderabad FC announced a two-year club partnership with German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, which will have an option to extend for additional years with an extended scope until 2025.
“The partnership brings in good news for football supporters in India, as it shows a long-term commitment of one of the biggest German football brands to the Indian football ecosystem,” Hyderabad FC said in a release.
Hyderabad FC becomes the official ‘Club Partner’ of Dortmund in India, the German football giant’s fourth partnerships, which includes the likes of Thai Premier League Club Buriram United, Australia’s NPL Club Marconi FC and Iwate Grulla Morioka in Japan.Hyderabad FC, which was previously based out of Pune and known as Pune City, had Fiorentina owning around 15 per cent stake in the team. The partnership didn’t yield ideal result as the Italian side decided to end their journey in Indian football within a few seasons.
ATK, which was known as Atletico Madrid had La Liga giants Atletico Madrid as one of their owners in the initial seasons but that too came to an end with the Spanish team choosing to reenter the Indian football scene with Jamshedpur FC.
Dutch side Feyenoord had teamed up with Delhi Dynamos, which is now moved to Bhubaneshwar and plays under the name Odisha FC. The partnership lasted just the inaugural season.Currently, Bengaluru FC have partnership with Scottish side Rangers FC and I-League club Chennai City FC have a similar deal with FC Basel of Switzerland.
Most recently, Mumbai City FC was brought into the City Football Group, which also owns Manchester City, Melbourne City FC and New York City FC, among other teams, with a controlling stake ownership.
The grand launch of the Hyderabad FC-Borussia Dortmund partnership will take place during Dortmund ‘s Virtual Asia Tour on 20th August and will be streamed live on Hyderabad FC’s social media channels.