A general view as players of Manchester City celebrate during their parade in front the “Treble” banner after winning the UEFA Champions League, Premier League and the FA Cup Trophy on June 12, 2023 in Manchester, England. The three trophies will be brought to India in September
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
The year only seems to be getting better for the fans of the English football giants Manchester City in Kerala.
Hardly have their celebrations settled down on their team’s historic treble in the just concluded season with the FA Cup, Premier League, and Champions League adorning the trophy cabinet, had come the club’s latest announcement.
“To celebrate our treble winning season, we are launching the Treble Trophy Tour, taking our trophies closer to fans in Manchester and around the world!” read the official social media announcement on Thursday.
Adding to the delight of the club’s fans in Kerala is that Kochi is one of the destinations of the tour scheduled between September 21 and 27. The other being Mumbai.
Manchester City fans in Kerala during the screening of one of their matches.
“The announcement has triggered a lot of excitement among the fans in our social media groups. Already we were on a high following the historic treble-winning season, and now this. We are planning a grand meetup in Kochi coinciding with the tour though the exact details are yet to be known,” said Sreekanth P.S., an active member of Cityzens Kerala, the official Manchester City supporters’ club formed in 2015.
The club had been conducting the tour trophy for a few years now and had been to other Indian cities before. Fans have been ruing how Kerala was being consistently overlooked for the tour. That the club has delayed heeding the plea till this year, however, seems to have come as a blessing in disguise in hindsight as fans will now get to see all the three trophies at one go.
“There are reports that some club legends will be part of the tour. Usually, these tours feature events like quiz and trivia for the fans who get gifted with the goodies like club scarves, caps, and curios. Fans are super excited and looking forward to the tour,” said Mr. Sreekanth.
The trophy tour is also planned in cities of Japan, South Korea, Greece, the UK, China, UAE, Australia, Norway, Argentina, the US, and Brazil.
Cityzens Kerala claims to have nearly 1,000 members and fans are confident of converting more young fans into hardcore Cityzens with this tour. “We are looking at bringing in young fans who follow no club other than Manchester City for which the club is granting free membership to those aged below 18 years. What we want is a solid fanbase of hardcore Cityzens,” said Mr. Sreekanth.
