Pune: Living to their promise of bringing the city of Pune together with an all-inclusive approach, the Rajesh Wadhawan Group and Hrithik Roshan co-owned Indian Super League team FC Pune City have taken a 360 degree approach in giving fans an experience to remember on field as well off it.

From pre-season engagements like meet and greet with the team and its star player to the carnival area on match day to bringing in under-privileged kids from NGO’s to the match for free on October 5th, FC Pune City left no stones unturned in engaging the community and the supporters at every possible opportunity. The Carnival area on match day had so much excitement going on for the fans even before the match kicked off. Balloon toy makers, bungee bombs, finger football, foosball tables, jugglers and various other acts gave a kick-start to the celebrations later.

The club couldn’t have given a better start to their fans for pre season engagements by getting them to speak with their marquee player Adrian Mutu. On the day Romanian striker was announced as the marquee player to the entire country, the fans were also invited post the media event for a 30-minute long Skype interaction with their star. Then, two months before the season started, the club organized a meet and greet between the team and fans in a festive mood.

“Fans are central to our existence. We considered every feedback from our fans and implemented whatever was viable. Since the start, all our initiatives have been fan inclusive. Player announcements, auction day, celebrating festivals, fan meets, team arrival and interactions – fans have been a part of us. We at the club endeavour to know our fans rather than only telling them who we are.

We want everyone who loves Pune and Maharashtra to support us. We promise to give our fans top-class entertainment and happiness; moments to cherish and remember. More importantly pride of being a Punekar,” explained club CEO Mr. Gaurav Modwel.

Then for those who not only loved the sport but also wanted to play, FC Pune City organized a tournament called ‘Forces Of Football’. The three-layered event touched football enthusiasts from all strata, from students to corporates, from amateurs to professionals in a two month long event which will culminate mid-way through the Indian Super League 2015 season.

As the entire squad returned from Turkey for the pre season, club invited the fans to be a part of the homecoming celebrations at the team hotel. Fans got a chance to take pictures with their favourite stars and some players shook a leg on the beats of the welcoming traditional drums.

“Fans were always an integral part of all our initiatives and it was a conscious decision to put them first. Right from the day of the auction till the time we played our first game on Monday, we have left no stones unturned in engaging with the existing fans and touching base with the new ones. The fact that we had so many fans at the stadium for the first game was the testimony of our efforts towards engaging them,” Hrithik Roshan, the club’s co-owner said.

While the on-ground activations kept coming, FC Pune City also launched there official website which complemented their massive presence on social media. Then there was official team jersey launch where lucky few got a chance to meet and click selfies with the top stars from the team including skipper Didier Zokora, marquee player Adrian Mutu, first match hero Tuncay Sanli and Indian midfield maestro Eugeneson Lyngdoh.

As the season closed in, the club offered some mouth-watering deals for season tickets. From corporates to students, one and all had something or the other to take home besides the match day ticket. FC Pune City rolled out ‘My City, My Club’ initiative where the top schools, colleges, academies and corporates showing the strongest support to the club during games will be awarded exclusive gratification.

FC Pune City ensured that match-day experience didn’t start at the stadium but right from the time fans left their home to come to the stadium. As a top priority for the club and considering that the venue is away from the city limits, FC Pune City partnered with Ola Cabs wherein fans could use “OLAFCPC” as a promo code to avail free rides to the stadium. Additionally 20 PMT buses were plied from central locations in the city to the stadium exclusively for fans. The fans had to meet at specific Café Coffee Day outlets and travel together from there on these special buses.