Coal India Limited to sponsor Hockey India League

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Wednesday at the corporate office in Kolkata between the two parties. Re-christened as ‘Coal India-Hockey India League’, the tournament is set to start on January 18 next year, with the finale on February 21. A total of 34 matches are scheduled to be played across six cities involving six franchise teams.

"The amount includes the sponsorship fee of Rs 13 crore as well as cash awards to Coal India Best Goal of the Match in each of the matches and Coal India Most Valuable Player of Season and other expenses," CIL Director (HR) R Mohan Das said, reported PTI.

Coal India has signed the title sponsorship deal for three consecutive years, pending a review at the end of every year. The sponsorship fee for 2017 and 2018 will be Rs. 14 crores and Rs. 15 crores respectively.

“Hockey always enjoyed popularity in the country and we were once at the pinnacle of this game globally. Basically our intent is to encourage sports, especially hockey, and stoke the interest for the cause of youth,” CIL Chairman Sutirtha Bhattacharya said, reported PTI.