NEW DELHI: The Instagram message from English Premier League team Manchester City wishing everyone a happy Onam in Malayalam quickly gained popularity online and warmed the hearts of the locals.
Manchester City sent out a Malayalam "Happy Onam" greeting to all Malayalees, which caused the Instagram image to go viral and increase the club's supporter base in Kerala.
The background of the photo, which focuses on Erling Haaland, a famous actor, as he bites into a fried pappadam while wearing a blue jersey, immediately caught the attention of Malayalees all over the world.
Kerala Tourism posted the image again on Facebook with the caption, "The English Premier League squad with 32 major championships wishes all Malayalees a good Onam. There is a sizable Malayalee fan base for Manchester City all across the world.
An outpouring of compliments followed this as well, Kerala Tourism said in a statement on Thursday.
Commenting on the post, Kerala Tourism Minister P A Mohamed Riyas said on Thursday that football has for long been part of the state's sporting culture, which has now earned yet another note of warmth from abroad.
"Manchester City is among the world's top football clubs and they have dedicated followers in Kerala as well," he said.
The Instagram picture is effectively a token of the club's gratitude to us, the minister added.
While Onam, as Kerala's harvest festival, bears the egalitarian spirit of universal bonding, experts note that the impact of Manchester City's Onam post is a pointer to ways a football club can go beyond its traditional boundaries and appeal to faraway people from different backgrounds.
One commentator said the 143-year-old club is making a "concerted effort to connect with its fans in Kerala and the surrounding region."
The 23-year old Haaland, a Norwegian who plays as a striker for Manchester City, is rated as one of the world's best footballers, going by his speed, strength, positioning and finishing inside the box.
For Kerala and its tourism, this is not the first kind of experience.
Five months ago, football powerhouse Chelsea FC made a virtual tour of Alappuzha, praising the beauty of the state's backwater paradise, the statement further said.
"The beauty of Kerala! The Blues visit the scenic backwater of Alleppey as part of the virtual tour," ran the caption of a virtual image of March 20, it added.
(With PTI inputs)
