Prominent Direct-Selling company QNET’s sponsorship of England’s Manchester City Football Club has recently been recognized with a Bronze Stevie® Award for Innovation in Sponsorships in the Asia-Pacific category. The award was given in acknowledgment of QNET’s successful partnership with the Manchester City Football Club, which fosters a youth community engagement environment. Here is a deeper look into what the two have accomplished together in what has been called “A Performance-Driven Partnership”.

About the Award

The Innovation in Sponsorships Bronze comes from The Stevie® Awards’ Asia-Pacific division. The sub-category is the only business awards program that takes nominations from the entire Asia-Pacific region. Nations such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka have recently been added, bringing the total to 29 countries eligible for consideration. The winners are chosen by a judging panel of more than 100 diverse business executives.

About the Partners

QNET is an e-commerce subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based QI Group, another esteemed company in the region. Since its inception in 1998, QNET has been a leader in Asia’s Direct-Selling sector. The company empowers entrepreneurs in 100 countries across the globe through wellness product sales. Their e-commerce business model has impacted the lives of people all over the world, combining the opportunity to improve both the health and financial livelihood of themselves and others.

The Manchester City Football Club is a well-known and loved team across Europe. QNET has been the exclusive direct selling partner of the Manchester City Football Club since 2014. Shortly after, Manchester City became Barclay’s Premier League Champion. QNET praised the team’s commitment, focus, and teamwork- qualities they value within their industry as well. The ‘performance-driven’ mentality both companies share has proved to lead to mutual success. The team recently won the Carabao Cup back-to-back in 2019 and 2020- with a total of 4 Carabao Cup wins in the last 6 years. Manchester finished the recent Premier League season in second place, just behind Liverpool.  

The award-winning sponsorship was recently extended for another five years. The City Football Groups’ VP Director of Partnerships Stephan Cieplik commented on the renewal, “QNET is one of Manchester City’s longest-standing partners and our relationship with them has strengthened year on year,” By the end of this extension, the partnership will celebrate its 10th Anniversary.

Why They Won

The acclaimed sponsorship has supported youth enrichment initiatives in communities all across South East Asia. They are committed to investing in skill development at all levels. The collaboration organizes youth education programs, team-building training, and donates football uniforms to underfunded schools- among other projects.

QNET CEO Ms. Malou Caluza commented, “Through this partnership, we’ve had the opportunity to send children from low-income families from different parts of the world to Manchester, for football training camps and English language schools, which has been truly life-changing for many of these kids.” 

She is referring to the most well-received program the sponsorship produced- an immersive football camp that premiered last summer. The two-week camp was hosted at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, UK, which is recognized as one of the top athletic facilities in the world. The initiative selected 20 young footballers from 12 countries to participate in an exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime experience within the world of football.

QNET’s sponsorship also extends past Manchester’s main leagues. In 2018, they made history in the FA Women’s Super League by launching the league’s 1st sleeve partnership. Manchester City’s Head of Women’s Football Gavin Makel remarked, “Working together with QNET, we hope we can bring the magic of women’s football to even more people and provide our supporters across the globe with the opportunity to get even closer to Manchester City’s women’s team.”

A club press release stated, “Throughout the next phase of this partnership QNET will continue to provide City-led football clinics to communities around the world, as well as engaging with consumers and distributors through this relationship with City.”

QNET is also a sponsor of the Confederations of African Football (CAF). They serve as the Official Direct Selling Partner for The CAF Total Confederation Cup, The CAF Total Super Cup, and the CAF Total Champions League- three of the African club league’s major championships.