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Finnish football club opens a branch office in India and ties up for long-term cooperation with I-League club Chennai City FC

Finnish football club opens a branch office in India and ties up for long-term cooperation with I-League club Chennai City FC

Football as a gateway for business and social development

JS Hercules from Oulu, Finland and Chennai City FC, India, today signed a long term
cooperation agreement. The agreement is the first of its kind between Finland and India and
only a couple of other such partnerships have been made between Indian and European
clubs before.


Chennai City FC is owned by Mr. Rohit Ramesh whose family also runs one of the largest and
the oldest media companies of India, The Hindu Group. The company publishes the
second-largest circulated English language newspaper in India, The Hindu.
Chennai is the vibrant capital of Indian state Tamil Nadu (72 million people) and the fourth
largest city of India (9 million people).


The goal of the partnership is to show the power of football in societies where these two
clubs originate and how football can be used to boost business, trade and exchange of
knowledge on and off the pitch in order for the whole community to benefit from.
The partnership also includes off-season opportunities including education and work
placements for the players and staff of both clubs.


CONCRETE ACTIONS
1. Hercules and Chennai City open a joint venture company in Chennai to boost trade
between Finland and the state of Tamil Nadu
2. Staff and player exchange between the two clubs to improve the sporting success
3. Exchange of best practices and projects between the clubs; in sport, in business and
in social engagement

QUOTES BY THE CLUBS’ MANAGEMENT


Rohit Ramesh, Owner of Chennai City FC:​ “I have been approached by many European
clubs before regarding a partnership, but Hercules is the first club that has had something
unique to offer. Their innovative and social entrepreneurial approach to sport impressed me.
We share a mutual understanding of how football and sport in general can be used for the
benefit of the community. This partnership is also a wonderful opportunity for upcoming
players from Tamil Nadu who are a part of Chennai City Football Club – not only to grow as a
player but also as a fully-rounded individual with educational and cultural exposure. By joining
our forces like this, both clubs make our communities expand over the borders. This is
football at its best!”


Christian Happel, CEO of JS Hercules​: “I am extremely excited about this cooperation.
Immediately when we first contacted Mr. Rohit Ramesh we felt that we have found the right
person whom to work with on a long-term basis. I see this partnership as a huge potential for
Finnish and Indian businesses. This is a state level affair which proves the power of football as
the best connector of people and businesses.”
Start date of contract: 06.04.2017

LINKS TO RELATED INFO AND IMAGES


Chennai, India: ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai
State of Tamil Nadu, India: ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Nadu
Chennai City FC: ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chennai_City_F.C​.
Oulu, Finland: ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulu
JS Hercules: ​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JS_Hercules

More information:
Christian Happel: ​christian.happel@jshercules.com​ / +358 50 3372162
Mikko Perälä: ​mikko.perala@jshercules.com​ / +358 40 7453749