Leading tyre maker, Apollo Tyres has announced the culmination of the Thailand leg of “United We Play”, the on-ground grassroots football initiative, supported by Manchester United. Part of the brand’s efforts to leverage its association with the football club, this is the first time the event has been conducted in the country.
United We Play is an initiative by Apollo Tyres and Manchester United to support young footballers by giving them a platform to showcase their skills with the objective of motivating aspiring footballers to continue playing, by engaging with them, and introducing them to global training methodologies.
The event was combined with the launch of Thailand’s first “Go The Distance Pitch”, which is Apollo Tyres’ 14th Pitch overall. Go the Distance Pitch is a sustainable initiative by Apollo Tyres using 100% repurposed rubber from its own tyres to create the playing surface for artificial football pitches. The first Go The Distance pitch was opened near the North Stand of the iconic Old Trafford in Manchester, home of Apollo Tyres’ partner Manchester United Football Club.
The pitch has been launched in partnership with TCFC Rama9, and the launch was attended by Bangkok Governor Mr. Chadchart Sittipunt, together with Mr Nagesh Singh, Honourable Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Thailand. Both dignitaries spoke at the event to encourage and inspire the young athletes taking part in the United We Play programme to continue playing and improve their technical, tactical, physical and social skills that are typical of the sport and reap benefits through the GTD Pitch in Bangkok.
The Thailand edition saw 280 participants showcasing their skills and Liam Emery emerged as the winner from this region. He will be given a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Old Trafford to participate in exciting activities like a matchday experience, training session with Manchester United Soccer School coaches, and interactions with Manchester United Legends.
Commenting on the event, and the talent, Mr Manish Maharaj, ASEAN Business Head, Apollo Tyres, said “It is heartening to see that the United We Play Programme is being expanded to other countries outside India as well. Thailand has a huge appetite for football and we have a huge untapped talent pool available here. We believe that initiatives like United We Play will help unearth and develop talent from the country.”
The theme for this edition of United We Play as envisioned by Apollo Tyres and Manchester United is to enable access to global standards in player development by engaging the youth via sport and helping them perform at their best.
