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"It's easy to balance between personal and professional. Professionally, I'm a strong Spurs supporter. But personally, I'm an even stronger Chelsea supporter. So that's the split. The challenge was I sat next to the Spurs chairman when Chelsea played Spurs in the League Cup recently at Wembley. But while I was sad that Spurs lost, I was also happy that Chelsea won," he says.
The English Premier League attracts 1 billion television audience per season throughout Asia, while Spurs has over 170 million fans across the region, Tucker says.
He adds that AIA has partnered with Spurs in the promotion of healthy living as part of its corporate social responsibility and support to the community. "It needs to be always a business decision first. It can't be favorite sport or a favorite team. It must be what's best for the business."
Aside from having the AIA brand name on Spurs' match shirts and the stadium, the insurer also has a box at the White Hart Lane Stadium where its guests can watch matches.
AIA also sponsored the Hong Kong Under 16 Representative Team to attend a special 12-day academy training program at the Spurs Training Centre in London.
Football training programs are also provided to young people in China and Malaysia. In late May, Spurs had a tour in Asia and had games in Kuala Lumpur and Sydney. Outside Britain, Indonesia which is one of AIA's markets, has the largest Spurs' fan club.
Spurs is among English Premier League football clubs well known for its charity work.
Tucker stresses the efficacy of AIA's sponsorship to bolster its brand. "I don't think there's any other sport in Asia that's so popular across all countries... This is one part of an overall marketing strategy which is new and which gets the most significant attention," he says.
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