Asia Football Qualifiers U17

AFC U-17 Asian Cup

Client

Gujarat State Football Association (GSFA)

Industry

Sporting Event

The Brand

The AFC U-17 Asian Cup is Asia’s premier youth football championship organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The qualifiers determine which national teams advance to the finals and ultimately compete for a place in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

01 The Challenges

The qualifiers organized in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, needed to capture public attention within a limited time frame and turn a global sporting event into a citywide movement.

Key objectives included:

Creating strong awareness among the city’s football fans
Driving maximum stadium attendance
Building excitement around the tournament across Ahmedabad
Encouraging support for Team India
Engaging schools and youth communities in football
Amplifying GSFA’s presence as the host of the tournament

The timeline was extremely tight as the matches began soon after we were onboarded.

02 The Solution

Communication Crafts executed a multi-channel integrated campaign designed to build citywide excitement and drive stadium attendance.

We began by creating a strong campaign identity that tapped into local pride and rallied Ahmedabad behind Team India, positioning the tournament as Gujarat’s moment on Asia’s football stage. This identity guided all communication across platforms.

The campaign rolled out through high-impact outdoor and stadium branding, with 57+ hoardings across the city and 150+ branded assets including standees, invites, flyers, and activation backdrops. All stadium branding was executed in line with AFC’s international event standards to ensure a world-class match experience.

Simultaneously, we activated digital outreach through a structured four-week content strategy covering pre-event teasers, practice sessions, player profiles, press conferences, fan contests, match-day coverage, and victory celebrations.

To strengthen grassroots engagement, we conducted on-ground activations across schools and institutions, reaching 37+ educational campuses and distributing 1500+ fan giveaways to encourage youth participation and support for the sport.

Complementing these efforts were radio promotions, print media coverage, anthem tracks for fans, and extensive content production, capturing training sessions, player stories, fan moments, and behind-the-scenes footage designed for digital performance.