State-owned mining company Coal India Limited has been named title sponsor of the 2016 edition of the Hockey India League club competition.
The competition will take on the official title of the Coal India-Hockey India League for next year’s tournament, which takes place across six cities from January 18 until February 21.
CIL agreed a Rs. 14.74 crores (€2m/$2.2m) deal with the Hockey India governing body, a figure which includes a Rs. 13 crores sponsorship fee and prize money for awards such as the ‘Coal India goal of the match’ and ‘Coal India most valuable player of the season’.
The two parties have also provisionally agreed a deal for the sponsorship of the 2017 and 2018 editions of the tournament. The agreement is subject to review at the end of each season. The sponsorship fees for the 2017 and 2018 tournaments currently stand at Rs. 14 crores and Rs. 15 crores respectively.
Sutirtha Bhattacharya, CIL chairman, said: “Coal India in its corporate citizenry role is actively involved in encouraging various sporting activities and talent hunt at grassroots level around our mining areas, district and state levels. 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.”
The 2016 Hockey India League will be the fourth instalment of the competition.