BENGALURU: With Covid-19 cases (3,52,991 new infections on Monday) spiralling out of control, India is in a deep state of crisis. Bed shortages, lack of oxygen and other facilities are headline-grabbing problems. Hence, people from different walks of life are coming out in the open to support those in need. Similarly Indian football clubs, including Bengaluru FC, have understood the need to amplify health and help resources and are using their social media presence to pass on the verified information to the masses and make a small contribution in trying times.
One look at the Blues’ recent activities on Twitter includes information on home-cooked meals delivery available in some cities, mental health helplines, hospitals with bed availability among others. The flow of information is only going to increase as they only set up a team over last week for the purpose, where fans and other staff are working countless hours reaching out to different people and verifying information. Bengaluru players are also using their reach to amplify.
This initiative is mainly the brainchild of the BFC media team, which has received full support from the management. With the club having a huge fan base, including 285k Twitter followers, they are making use of their supporters too.
“We’ve only just started, but the response has been great. We are inundated with resources willing to help... we formed a small core group comprising club staff and fans where we collate information. All this information is verified as much as possible by the fans who are assigned the job of calling the source of information.
“As for the players, they have been spoken with and will be using their reach and presence to amplify everything we do. They were on board the moment they heard about the initiative,” said a member of the media team. It is not the first time that the club have taken such initiatives during the pandemic. Last year also they ran a campaign ‘Back On Our Feet’ where they covered stories of and created content for small businesses through the city. So, their recent initiative does not come as a surprise, especially when the medical infrastructure is creaking.
“I think it gives us so much more meaning as a football club. This is our home and that doesn’t stand true only during the season or during games. Times are very hard and we want to play our part to help in the healing process. We’ve always received so much love and support whenever we’ve played and it’s only right that we grab the first chance to return it back.” However, it is not only Bengaluru. Other Indian Super League clubs, including Kerala Blasters, Chennaiyin FC, NorthEast United FC and Odisha FC have also taken similar initiatives to tackle the second wave.