Reliance Retail, which expects a five-fold growth in its sportswear business in the next three years led by a spurt in sporting activities and awareness for a healthy lifestyle, has decided to be a major sponsor of Indian football.

According to a PTI report, a company official said yesterday that Reliance Retail, part of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, has struck a partnership with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) to become the official kit and merchandise sponsor of the Indian football team.

To be part of the transformation journey when people are looking at sporting events beyond cricket and visualising sports as a career, Reliance Retail with its sportswear brand Performax is proving to be an affordable option, said its Fashion & Lifestyle President & CEO Akhilesh Prasad.

Brand Performax will be marketed through the partnership with AIFF that will give the brand access to a variety of events and initiatives.

Though the current market size of sportswear is very small in India and largely dominated by local brands, Prasad said it has huge room for growth and Reliance Retail looks itself as a ”catalyst” for this by providing affordable quality products in comparison to the leading international brands operating in the segment.

Reliance Retail has opened 11 Performax standalone stores in places like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and has plans to add more in other parts of the country like non-metro markets.

”We are getting very good responses in the standalone store. It will also be available at Trends and other chain stores. We will also get the products distributed so that it is available to a mass of people,” Prasad said.

Besides, as the Indian economy grows, several sports leagues have started in the last few years such as kabbadi, badminton, soccer, etc. and are giving a lifeline to sports in the country.

”I think an interesting crop of youngsters are going to look at sports as a career. And that is where we have to provide performance athletic gear, which is affordable for the children. That is where we are playing the role,” Prasad said, according to the PTI report.

While the international brands, which operate in the segment are ”extremely expensive”, out of reach and unaffordable for children, Prasad assured that with Performax products there was no compromise on the quality, though they are priced lower than the international brands.

Through its multi-year partnership with AIFF, Performax will not only have exclusive rights to manufacture kits across all formats of the game but will also make it the sole supplier for all match, travel and training wear for the AIFF, including men’s, women’s and youth teams.

In addition, as the merchandise sponsor, Performax will also hold the rights to manufacture and retail these products.

Reliance Retail is a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), the holding company of all the retail companies under the RIL.