(Reuters) – Premier League leaders Manchester City have swiped right on a unique deal with dating app Tinder, both organizations said on Thursday.
A day after a 3-0 loss to Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-finals, City announced the signing of a multi-year partnership with Tinder, with British media reporting the deal is worth millions of pounds.
The commercial deal will see the dating app team up with the club’s men’s and women’s sides along with sister club New York City FC.
“Tinder is a huge global platform which, just like football, is bringing millions of people together every day all around the world,” City Football Group’s Chief Commercial Officer Tom Glick said in a statement on the club’s website.
“Football is all about a community of fans, sharing moments, emotions and passion for the sport they love.
“Together with Tinder, we have a great opportunity to explore how we can combine Tinder’s significant appeal and reach with our global audience… We believe this will be a perfect match for Tinder and for City.”
Tinder, the dating app owned by Match Group Inc, marked the beginning of the partnership by flying a blimp in City’s club colors – light blue and white – along with logos of both organizations in Manchester on Thursday.
The dating app has also changed its social media icons to match the club’s colors to show support ahead of City’s potential title-clinching derby against bitter rivals Manchester United in the league on Saturday.
“Football is a sport where anything can happen at any moment,” Tinder’s VP Partnerships David Wyler said.
“We wanted to be true to the game and do something unexpected by surprising the fans and our users with news of our partnership in a fun and creative way.”
(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)
