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Edtech giant BYJU’S has announced that they are now the official sponsors of the FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar in 2022. With this sponsorship, BYJU’s has become the first Indian company to sponsor one of the biggest sporting tournaments in the world.

“It is a matter of pride for us to represent India on such a prestigious global stage and champion the integration of education and sport,” said BYJU’S founding CEO Byju Raveendran.

“Sport is a big part of life and brings together people across the world,” he continued. “Just as football inspires billions, we at BYJU’S hope to inspire the love of learning in every child’s life through this partnership.”

FIFA’s chief commercial officer Kay Madati said, “We are delighted to be partnered with a company like BYJU’S, which is also engaging communities and empowering young people wherever they may be in the world.”

BYJU’S is no stranger to sporting sponsorships, and has been the shirt sponsor of the Indian national cricket team since 2019.

When they initially took over from Oppo as the shirt sponsors, they were paying Rs 4.61 crore per bilateral match and Rs 1.51 crore per match in an ICC event. Earlier this year, they agreed to stay on as sponsors until the 2023 ODI World Cup, agreeing to a 10 percent bump on the fees they were already paying.

Details on the finances behind the new sponsorship deal with FIFA World Cup of men’s football has not yet been disclosed. The four-year cycle before 2018 tournament was estimated to have earned FIFA $1.45 billion, lower than the $1.62 billion in sponsorships that was closed in the four-year cycle before the 2014 competition.

This decrease in revenue was largely because of FIFA’s decision to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia — a move that raised many eyebrows. The international governing body of association football now aims to increase their sponsorship revenue amidst the slowdown due to the pandemic and hosting the World Cup in Qatar — another contested choice.

Other known official sponsors of the FIFA World Cup 2022 include Singaporean cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com and Chinese dairy firm Mengniu.