Arsenal Football Club is back in Indonesia this weekend, with club legend Robert Pires, bringing fans together to set a record for the longest 11-a-side football match held in the country.
The Arsenal Football Marathon will be held on Saturday, January 24 at the International Sport Club of Indonesia from 8am to 4pm, and Arsenal and football fans from all around the country have been registering in their hundreds to take part in the MURI (Indonesian World Record Museum) record attempt.
The football marathon sees Arsenal embracing the “Gotong Royong” spirit, a value of community building which is deep within Arsenal’s DNA and shared across Indonesia.
With the help of club partner PUMA, Arsenal will be donating a football per participant to global charity partner Save the Children and other good causes in Indonesia. The club has also invited young people from a Save the Children project in the Bandung Province, funded by The Arsenal Foundation, to take part.
Arsenal Foundation ambassador Robert Pires said: “I’ve always had great support from Arsenal fans and I know the club has great support in Indonesia. The club has always understood its ability to bring people together and I am really looking forward to meeting and playing alongside these supporters, particularly some of the young people from the Save the Children project in Bandung.”
Since the club’s first visit to Indonesia in 1983, Arsenal has had incredible support in the country from fans of the game. The Gunners returned to Indonesia in July 2013 for a pre-season match and since then has continued to connect with its loyal and growing fanbase with over three million Indonesian supporters interacting via Twitter, Facebook and an “Art of Arsenal” micro-site.
Charles Allen, Arsenal’s head of marketing, said: “As a club we are incredibly proud of the passionate and loyal fanbase supporting us in Indonesia. The reception we had when on tour in the Far East in July 2013 was humbling and it’s great to see the club returning to the region some 18 months later. The digital engagement and support we’ve seen from supporters in Indonesia has grown significantly over the last few years and the Football Marathon is a chance for us to acknowledge those fans and thank them for continued support.”
Arsenal announced the details of their Football Marathon in MAP Sport Station, Kota Kasablanca, in Jakarta, on Friday following their recent partnership announcement.
For more information, images and updates from the Arsenal Football Marathon in Bahasa Indonesia, please visit the official Twitter account @OfficialAFC_ID and the official Facebook page www.facebook.com/arsenal.
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