As football fans in Kerala are bracing up to join Manchester City’s Treble Trophy Tour to Kochi on Saturday, the English Premier League giants came up with an image of the southern State’s sprawling Vembanad Lake on its social media handles as the backdrop for the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League trophies and the latest Super Cup won by the club.
The 143-year-old club posted on social media a picture of the four trophies lined up tastefully against the evening sky beyond the horizon even as a passenger boat moves past close-by.
“The sun sets of Vembanad Lake in Kochi on our latest leg of the Treble Trophy Tour!” said the write-up, followed by an image of the Indian tri-colour and a gold-coloured football cup.
“It is really exciting that a prominent football club of the world is coming to Kerala with the coveted trophies they won recently. Kerala can be really proud that Manchester City greatly appreciates the stunning beauty of Kerala and is unveiling it before the whole world”, Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said.
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“Just as its unparalleled natural beauty, Kerala is also reputed for its love of football. The social media image is yet another instance of Kerala being marked firmly on the world tourism map. This reflects the big reputation our state enjoys in the West and other countries across the globe,” he added.
The 230-km square feet Vembanad is Kerala’s largest lake, with its Kochi stretch dotted by small islands that make it particularly scenic.
The Treble Trophy Tour, after Kochi, will travel to Mumbai.
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Only three weeks ago, Manchester City wished Malayalis across the world ‘Happy Onam’ over social media by displaying the greetings in the State’s language and turning the Instagram picture go viral. That was on August 31, when the image focused on superstar Erling Haaland in the club’s blue jersey biting into a fried pappadam, while the background showed two houseboats lined up close to a green plot of land defined by coconut trees.
Earlier this summer, football powerhouse Chelsea FC made a virtual tour of Alappuzha, praising the beauty of the state’s backwater paradise.
Kerala’s iconic snake boat race had been featured prominently by the Wimbledon Tennis Championship as a poster on its digital platforms during the latest edition of the revered tourney.