MAM
#ThisIsGoa chronicles the essence of FC Goa, its connection with the state and the ‘controlled chaos’ perfected by the club
MUMBAI: Inseparable. Interlinked. Coalesced. Unified. The list of words to describe the relationship between FC Goa and the state of Goa is endless.
In a region where football is life, where the sport runs through the veins of the local populace, FC Goa and Goa are one, for it is impossible to speak of one without mentioning the other.
This campaign celebrates football club FC Goa’s accomplishments in its short journey thus far and introduces the key building blocks of the ecosystem (players, coaches and other personnel) to create brand recognition and focus on its youth development program.
With game-changing initiatives towards player development, scouting and infrastructure for youth teams, FC Goa is looking to build footballing champions of tomorrow. Goa may be the country’s smallest state, but the pride and heart of the club and its supporters remain unmatched. The club’s heart-pumping, leave-it-all-on-the-field philosophy is matched by the passion of its large fanbase.
The campaign focuses on FC Goa’s work in the grassroots sphere and its continued focus on improving the technical quality of players coming through the club’s talent pyramid. The future of the state’s youth is in secure hands, the club providing a home to more than 110 footballers through its several teams.
The presence of a women’s team, the only Indian Super League outfit to have one, and youth teams all the way from Under-13’s to Under 23’s makes the club a well-rounded outfit, one of the few in the entire country to possess as many teams. FC Goa’s intentions are to create a holistic football ecosystem where all stakeholders can thrive and grow at the same pace.
Four trophies in a single season, including two in age-group leagues underline the club’s mission and vision to provide a winning platform to its players while maintaining the essence of elite player development.
There is no FC Goa without Goa, and vice versa. If it is becoming abundantly clear that this is FC Goa’s time, it is also clear that #ThisIsGoa’s time.
Speaking about the campaign, Aditya Datta, Commercial Director of FC Goa stated that this campaign was an effort to bring to highlight the emotional and footballing connect between the club, its fans and the state as a whole.“Our objective was to bring out the fact that the club has stayed true to its ideals of bringing about a football revolution, a cultural bridge using the sport as a tool to solidify the bonds it has forged within five years of its inception. We believe that these bonds can only strengthen with the passage of time and our exemplary work on youth development will reap ample rewards with regards to extended fan loyalty in the future,” said Datta.
Rubina Dhillon, Head of Marketing and Sponsorships at FC Goa spoke about the fact that youth development was an under-highlighted facet of football clubs and that the focus was to shift the spotlight beyond the first team. “If you look at our grassroots programmes and our community outreach initiatives, then the work we’ve done in the short while that we’ve been active is tremendous. We are also hoping that brands recognise the conscious effort that we’ve invested into this area of the club and work hand-in-hand with us to help the youth development and grassroots program reach greater heights in India, Asia and beyond.”
She added that the campaign was a reflection of the ‘controlled chaos’ strategy that it exhibits on the field.“If you look at the team play, you will notice the methodical madness on display, the short passing game that results in beautiful attacking patterns. The club and its philosophy are an extension of the same, proceeding towards its objectives full-tilt but in an orderly fashion, in the right manner,” added Dhillon.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
