Qatar Airways gave match tickets to two football fans to join in the celebrations and watch the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 football tournament in Kolkata.
The winners won the tickets as part of a social media contest held by Qatar Airways, the official airline of FIFA.
They were selected from thousands of spectators who submitted pictures using the #KolkataTogether hashtag to enter the contest.
Qatar Airways cabin crew participated in the awards ceremony by presenting medals to players from the England team, who emerged champions following a sensational performance against Spain in the final.
England beat Spain 5-2 before a capacity crowd of more than 66,000 people at Kolkata’s Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan stadium.
Qatar Airways Group chief executive Akbar al-Baker said: “This final game has capped a magnificent tournament for all of those who took part in the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017. We are delighted to be the official airline partner of FIFA and join in the celebrations with thousands of dedicated football fans.
“As a nation, we place great importance on sports as a means of bringing people together. We at Qatar Airways are excited to take part in this tournament to help inspire and nurture the next generation of young football players.”
FIFA director (Marketing Services) Jean-François Pathy said: “The support of our official partners is vital to the success of all our FIFA events. In that respect, Qatar Airways have done a tremendous job in building excitement around the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 through #KolkataTogether.
“The use of such innovative digital campaigns creates positive engagement with our fans and contributes to promoting football not only in India but also around the world.”
Twenty-four national teams competed for the top trophy, taking part in 52 matches over 23 days in six different Indian cities: Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Kochi, Kolkata and Guwahati.
This year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup was the first-ever FIFA tournament to take place in India.
Qatar Airways flies more than 100 times a week between Doha and 13 destinations in India: Delhi, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Amritsar.
Qatar was announced in May as an official partner and the official airline of FIFA as part of a sponsorship package lasting until 2022.
Upcoming events sponsored by Qatar Airways will include the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the FIFA Club World Cup, the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
As an official partner of FIFA, Qatar Airways will have extensive marketing and branding rights at the next two FIFA World Cups, with an expected audience reach of billions of people per tournament.
The airline will also have visibility at competitions such as the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the FIFA Futsal World Cup and the FIFA Interactive World Cup, the world’s largest online gaming tournament.