ISL 2019-20: How the nation came together to make the league a grand success

The sixth edition of the Indian Super League concluded in March 2020 after months of intense battle between the 10 teams to decide the best football team in the country. At the end, ATK lifted the trophy for the third time in the competition’s history after beating Chennaiyin FC in the final.

The ISL was adorned with some beautiful football played by the teams. However, all this and much more was only possible due to teams working behind the scenes to getting it done. From the first kick off until the final whistle was blown, the teams behind the scenes deserve a round of applause especially with the finals being played behind closed doors owing to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The matches that we saw on our TV sets were the direct result of the hard work put in by the people in the background: the coaching staff, the groundsmen, the production crew, and the league’s partners such as DHL.

DHL, known for its vast network spanning across 220 countries and territories and lighting fast deliveries, has completed 5 years of its partnership with the Indian Super League. The company is the Associate Sponsor of the biggest football event in India and once again displayed just how effective they are at what they do.

How DHL played its part in making the ISL 2019-20 season a grand success

As Official Logistics Partner, DHL came up with an exciting 360-degree brand campaign for the ISL in order to engage with India’s footballing coterie. Here’s a look at their engagement activities:

Match Ball Delivery: As a result of the partnership, DHL was responsible for the delivery of the match ball in all 95 matches of the season. Fans across cities got an opportunity to deliver the match ball along with 8 underprivileged children and 38 customers.

DHL Winning Pass: Along with the fans, they even awarded the players who made the most significant contribution in each match through the ‘DHL Winning Pass’ award. This was awarded to the player with the most assists in each match while FC Goa’s Hugo Boumous received the overall league’s Winning Pass award with 10 assists in 15 matches.

FC Goa's Hugo Boumous won the DHL Winning Pass of the League award, collected by a team representative. [Image Credits: ISL]

Jersey Delivery: Even the jerseys you saw the teams don in the knockout stages were delivered to the teams by DHL.

ISL Trophy: Interestingly, the DHL team were the last team before ATK to get their hands on the trophy as they delivered the ISL trophy at the final as well.

Activation Zones: In order to engage with the ISL fans across the country, DHL installed Activation Zones in multiple cities. This was a grand success as more than 1,200 fans interacted at the zones with around 400 of them winning DHL goodies.

Social Media: Fans who couldn’t attend the matches or Activation Zones were treated to three social media campaigns to be a part of the extravaganza. On Twitter and Instagram, these campaigns saw nearly 2 Million impressions and 6.2 lakh engagement, exemplifying the viral content and Indian people’s affinity with football.

The conclusion of the 6th season of the Indian Super League may have happened behind closed doors, but that would only fuel the fans’ fervour when India’s premier football competition returns for Season 7.