MUMBAI: Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited Asia’s leading paint manufacturer has come on board as an associate sponsor for the first two seasons of the upcoming Pro Volleyball League. India’s newest franchise-based sporting league is an initiative of Baseline Ventures and the Volleyball Federation of India, and is set to begin on 2nd February 2019 with participation from some of the biggest international and national volleyball stars. Nippon Paint is no stranger to Indian sports as they are already the official sponsors of IPL champions Chennai Super Kings and also the current ISL Champions Chennaiyan FC in multi-year deals.
Explaining their dive into volleyball, Mr. S Mahesh Anand, President – Nippon Paint (India) Private Limited (Decorative Division) commented, “Volleyball enjoys great popularity across all cities, small towns and villages of India. A professional league for it couldn’t have happened at a better time. We believe that our association with Pro Volleyball will give us a chance to support the sport in the years to come, and in turn, gain substantial traction for our global brand.”
Delighted with the association, Tuhin Mishra, MD and co-founder of Baseline Ventures said, “We are pleased to announce our association with Nippon Paint as sponsors for the Pro Volleyball League. The coming on board of Nippon Paint only testifies the belief of brands in Pro Volleyball League and the future of the sport in India. The League promises to be a smashing success, and will deliver brands unparalleled reach and engagement across geographies and demographics across the length and breadth of the nation."
The inaugural edition of the league will start with six franchises from six Indian cities. The Ahmedabad-based team, called Ahmedabad Defenders is owned by Bonhomie Sports Event Mgmt. Ltd. Kerala's Calicut Heroes is owned by Beacon Sports, and Chennai Spartans is owned by Chennai Spartans Pvt. Ltd. U Mumba Volley is owned by U Sports, who also own a Kabaddi league team. While Black Hawks Hyderabad is owned by Agile Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., Thomas Muthoot owns the Kochi franchise, the Kochi Blue Spikers.
Pro Volleyball League’s first season will be held in two volleyball hotbeds of India i.e. Kochi (Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium) and Chennai (Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium). Each of the six teams will have 12 players including two foreign players and two Indian U-21 players. The league will be played over a total of 18 matches, with each team playing each other once in a round-robin format, with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals. All the matches will be broadcast live on Sony Six and Sony Ten 3, and can also be streamed live on the Sony LIV app.
