Edtech giant Byju's has been announced as one of the official sponsors of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, on Thursday.
“We are delighted to announce that BYJU’S would represent India at the biggest stage as an Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” the company tweeted. “This would make BYJU’S the first EdTech brand to sponsor this prestigious event globally.”
It will mark a major foray into football for the Bengaluru-based Edtech company, which sponsors the Indian cricket team.
“FIFA is dedicated to harnessing the power of football towards the goal of enacting positive societal change. We’re delighted to be partnered with a company like BYJU'S, which is also engaging communities and empowering young people wherever they may be in the world,” said Kay Madati, FIFA's chief commercial officer.
"We are excited to be sponsoring the FIFA World Cup, the biggest single-sport event in the world," said co-founder and CEO Byju Raveendran. "Sport is a big part of life and brings together people across the world. Just as football inspires billions, we at BYJU'S hope to inspire the love of learning in every child's life through this partnership," he said.
Interestingly, the Kerala-born Raveendran loves football, among other sports. “At school, I played all day (but) ensured that my studies never suffered. I can completely attribute this (playing football, badminton and table tennis) to the life skills that I learned on the sports field—performance under pressure, controlled aggression, leadership skills etc.,” he had told THE WEEK.
Raveendran gave up his shipping job and launched the company around a decade ago. The app was launched in 2015. The company has more than 10 crore registered users and 65 lakh annual paid subscriptions.
