CHENNAI: Till a fortnight ago, Chennaiyin FC and the other ISL clubs were going about their business as usual. With the seventh edition of the ISL getting over in March and no competitive action in the near future, they were using their social media accounts for routine fan engagement and sharing snippets about their players. But all that has changed over the past week.
As the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths started rising alarmingly across the country, Chennaiyin have begun using their social media reach – 877K followers on Twitter and 306K on Instagram – to attend to the cries of common people. From oxygen cylinders and beds to food supplies for those affected, the two-time ISL champions have been trying to attend to several requests. Since April 24, their Twitter timeline has been solely restricted to Covid-related requests.
“We have a social media agency on board in general as well. We are working closely with them right now too. The situation was becoming worse every day and is continuing to get worse. It was a collective decision taken by the club. We were discussing what we can do to make use of the platform productively. The Chennaiyin fan groups were also helping. We realized that since our reach is bigger, we can have a bigger impact,” a club official told this daily on Monday.
While tagging the Chennaiyin account on social media will help garner their attention immediately, they are also keeping an eye on other requests that come through the day. And the part that they are playing is bearing fruit as emergency issues are being resolved.
Pertinently, the club doesn’t want to confine itself to just amplifying posts on social media. They are discussing other measures that they can take to make a difference on the ground. “There are conversations going on internally in terms of what we can do to help out on the ground. We don’t want to be limited to just helping on social media. We want to make a tangible contribution. We are constantly in touch with our existing sponsors. This is not for publicity or something but just to help out the community,” the official added.
Chhetri’s Twitter handle to amplify Chennai messages
On Monday, Sunil Chhetri’s Twitter account @chetrisunil11 began verifying and amplifying Chennai-based Covid SOS messages. “I’m glad to extend my Twitter takeover to @ChennaiCares — a mixed group of individuals; some of whom have known each other for decades, some who worked together for Tsunami relief, some during the Chennai floods, some during the lockdown, and some who have just met each other,” India’s football captain tweeted. “@ChennaiCares verifies and amplifies resources, while also supplementing official efforts by channelizing authentic requests, managing information, and data.”