Chelsea ties up with India's Wipro in digital, fan engagement drive

MUMBAI, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Reigning English Premier League champions Chelsea FC will team up with Indian IT services group Wipro Ltd (BSE: WIPRO.BO - news) to help improve its digital media strategy, the two said a day after rival Manchester United (NYSE: MANU - news) made a similar announcement.

Wipro will work to improve fan engagement on game days and at other times and Chelsea Managing director Christian Purslow said the deal could also help the club build on its popularity in India, "where we have over 50 million passionate supporters and where there is great potential to further our fan base".

No financial details were given.

On Wednesday Manchester United said it signed a partnership deal with Indian IT firm HCL Technologies (BSE: HCLTECH.BO - news) to improve its website and app, helping design and build digital platforms capable of better engaging with fans.

Indian IT companies have been investing heavily in building their digital services abilities, leaning on technologies like cloud computing, social media and mobile phones as their clients move towards these platforms.

(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee and Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by David Holmes)