Introducing new fans to an exciting football club.
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club (Huddersfield Town A.F.C.) is looking to grow their presence in the West Yorkshire market by bringing on Mohammed Bhana as an Ambassador to the Club. The goal is to grow the club’s presence in the Asian-English demographic – a market that is often overlooked by most football clubs.
With his extensive resume and his work as the Public Relations Director at A Kahn Design, Bhana was the perfect fit for a role as an Ambassador to the Club and their long-term marketing goals to grow the fanbase.
“I don’t care if you are from Mars or whether you are Polish or Asian. The Club will listen to fans, regardless of their background; everyone is welcome here,” said Huddersfield Town Commercial Director, Sean Jarvis, to the Asian Standard in November.
Bhana’s role as an Ambassador didn’t come through a work connection, rather his eight-year-old-son and the Terriers through Huddersfield Town’s Schools Focus initiative that provides inexpensive match day tickets to local children and their families.
“My 8 year-old son kept on nagging me, asking me to take him to a Town game,” said Bhana.
“I said I’d take him if he learned his times-tables, which he did – all the way to 12. That’s how much he wanted to go and experience a match.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect and my wife was also a bit apprehensive about going; we had a few misconceptions because we had never been before.
“For a start we didn’t realize how passionate and loud the fans would be, and the high quality of the football was also something we didn’t expect. We thought that Huddersfield was a small club, but we now know that’s not the case!”
Bhana has already started to have a positive influence on marketing and advertising with the football club since joining. Working close with the Huddersfield Town advertising team, he has been able to use his experience with A Kahn Design and multilingual skills to create match day posters in Hundu and Urdu. This has helped to bring in a more diverse group of fans and make it easier for others to read these advertisements without having to stop and translate.
“A number of initiatives that have been set up recently, with the aim of engaging Asian community, have been very well attended.
“Huddersfield Town has made it clear that it doesn’t matter what ethnicity you are, the only colors that matter are the ones on the Club’s shirt.
“I think this is good, not just for the football club, but for Kirklees as a whole because it helps to bring people together.
“More people are starting to realize that they don’t have to travel to Liverpool or Manchester to watch first class football; they could just go a few miles down the road and watch football just as good, if not better, at Town for much less.
“There’s no need to support a club from another part of the country when you have one on your doorstep that you can get involved with.”
When he’s not helping A Kahn Design show off their latest vehicles or spending time with his family, you can bet Mohammed Bhana is working his magic as a Huddersfield Town A.F.C. or attending a match!
Source: Huddersfield Town A.F.C., Asian Standard
