 "Coal India to sponsor Hockey India League 2016")
With an aim to strengthen its brand image and reach out to a wider consumer base, state-run miner Coal India has decided to become the title sponsor of the 2016 season of the Hockey India League.
With the first game of the season commencing from January next year, the company will be spending about Rs. 14.73 crore as sponsorship payment.
The principal sponsorship fee however, is Rs 13 crore. In addition, another Rs 1.73 crore has been allotted for best goal for all the scheduled matches, most valuable player of the season and other expenses.
Apart from the deal for the forthcoming hockey season, the company has shown interest to sponsor 2017 and 2018 seasons as well subject to review at end of every year for continuance.
The sponsorship fee for the 2017 and 2018 seasons is pegged at Rs 14 crore and Rs 15 crore respectively.
Labeling it as a big-ticket event, Sutirtha Bhattacharya, chairman of Coal India said, "Basically our intent is to encourage sports, especially hockey, and stoke the interest for the cause of youth. We felt it is time that we step into bigger shoes at the national level. So, this partnership is an extension of our long standing commitment to sports in India."
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A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the deal was signed just recently between Hockey League and Coal India.
The sports tournament will go on from January 18 till February 21 with 34 matches scheduled across six cities involving six franchise teams.
"As a responsiblecorporate entity, encouraging sports and other cultural activities isas important to us as our business goals. We also aim to supplementcountry's efforts to help sports persons reach higher levels of performance," Mohan Das who heads Coal India Sports Promotion Association said.