MAM
Nike renews Asian Football Confederation contract
MUMBAI: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has announced that sportswear manufacturer Nike has extended its commercial engagement with Asian football.
The Oregon-based company is a designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. The company has been associated with AFC since 2005.
The agreement includes all AFC national competitions like the AFC Asian Cup as well as the qualifying tournaments for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, 2016 Olympic Games and the AFC Club programme.
AFC acting president Zhang Jilong said, “I couldn‘t be more excited about the extension of AFC‘s sponsorship agreement with Nike. Nike believed in the potential of Asian football and our alliance started in 2005. Nike‘s commitment is a good testimony to the great appeal of AFC tournaments as a superior marketing platform.”
World Sport Group East Asia president Nick Mould said, “It is a great pleasure to renew our relationship with Nike on behalf of Asian football. Since the beginning of their engagement with the AFC, Nike have been a proactive and innovative partner and we look forward to continuing to work closely together.”
Digital
India leads global adoption of ChatGPT Images 2.0 in first week
From anime avatars to fantasy covers, users turn AI visuals into culture
NEW DELHI: India has emerged as the largest user base for ChatGPT Images 2.0, just a week after its launch by OpenAI, underlining the country’s growing influence on global internet trends.
While the tool was introduced as an advanced image-generation upgrade within ChatGPT, Indian users are quickly reshaping its purpose. Instead of sticking to productivity-led use cases, many are embracing it as a creative playground for self-expression, storytelling and online identity.
From anime-style portraits and cinematic headshots to tarot-inspired visuals and fictional newspaper front pages, the model is being used to create highly stylised, shareable content. Features such as accurate text rendering, multilingual prompts and the ability to generate detailed visuals with minimal input have helped drive rapid adoption.
What sets the latest model apart is its ability to “think” through prompts, generating multiple outputs and adapting to context, including real-time web inputs. But the bigger story lies in how users are engaging with it.
In India, trends are already taking shape. Popular formats include dramatic studio-style lighting edits, LinkedIn-ready headshots, manga-inspired avatars, soft pastel “spring” aesthetics, AI-led fashion moodboards, paparazzi-style visuals and fantasy newspaper covers. Users are also restoring old photographs, creating tarot-style imagery and experimenting with futuristic design concepts.
Local flavour is adding another layer. Prompts such as cinematic portrait collages and Y2K-inspired romantic edits are gaining traction, blending global aesthetics with distinctly Indian internet culture.
The surge reflects a broader shift in how AI tools are being used in the country, moving beyond utility to creativity. As younger users, creators and social media enthusiasts experiment with new visual formats, AI-generated imagery is increasingly becoming part of everyday digital expression.
If early trends hold, ChatGPT Images 2.0 may not just be a tech upgrade but a cultural moment, giving millions a new visual language to play with online.
