Manchester United, the English soccer club, has extended its march towards global domination with an exclusive multi-million dollar sponsorship deal in India.

The club, which has been forced to search for a new shirt sponsor and additional revenue after the termination of its US$80 million deal with the American insurance corporation AIG, has been pursuing commercial deals in a number of countries in Asia. In April, United agreed a three-year deal with 3 Indonesia worth several million dollars.

Its latest deal will see Bharti Airtel, India's largest mobile service provider, provided with exclusive content to broadcast throughout India and given the rights to use United branding, including the famous Red Devil club badge. The company will also distribute the content in Sri Lanka and Seychelles.

Bharti Airtel customers will also be offered the chance to win tickets to see Premier League champions United play at Old Trafford and take on Barcelona in the Champions League final in Rome later this month. The company has more than 94 million subscribers.

"The deal has two parts, a fixed fee component to United and the variable revenue sharing with it on the business generated selling their content," said Sanjay Kapoor, deputy chief executive of Bharti Airtel. The deal is expected to be worth in the region of US$15 million to United over the five years, though the final amount is heavily dependent on the revenue sharing aspect. 

United's chief executive, David Gill, added: "It's a significant partnership and a significant investment for Bharti Airtel. Football is definitely seeing a growing interest among the young population in India. Therefore, we are making a pioneering effort to bring to them rich football content on their mobiles, a fantastic opportunity to be part of the world’s leading football club through participation in soccer schools, and also an opportunity to watch football matches across Europe."