MUMBAI: Sports marketing and talent management firm Baseline Ventures India and Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) have announced six city-based team owners for the inaugural edition of the Pro Volleyball League that begins in about two months.
VFI’s recognition earlier this year by FIVB (Fédération Internationale de Volleyball), the global association for the sport, paved the way for hosting the league here, and the organisers were working on getting the team owners to kick-off the tournament by February 2019.
“We believe that the league is going to be the much-needed shot in the arm for the sport in India,” said Tuhin Mishra, MD, Baseline Ventures. “We are starting the league in two cities that already have a strong following and fan-base for the sport.”
Ahmedabad Defenders is owned by Bonhomie Sports Event management; Calicut Heroes by Beacon Sports, Chennai Spartans by a consortium of alco-beverage company Kals Group; U Mumba Volley by Ronnie Screwvala’s U Sports; Hyderabad Black Hawks by Agile Securities (it owns Pro Badminton League franchise Hyderabad Hunters); and Kochi Blue Spikers by Thomas Muthoot of the Muthoot Pappachan Group.
ET had first reported that Baseline Ventures received a go-ahead from the VFI and FIVB and has signed a broadcast deal with Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) for live telecast of the matches.
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The matches, kicking off on February 2, will be played in two cities — Kochi (Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium) and Chennai (Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium). The teams will comprise 12 players, including two foreign players, one Indian icon player and two Indian U-21 players. The league will involve 18 matches, with each team playing each other once in a round-robin format and the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals.
“Volleyball was among the top sampled sports in the Asian Games and the Rio Olympics in 2016 and we are sure that the league will play a catalytic role in further developing both the sport and talent in the country,” said Prasana Krishnan, head – Content, Sports, SPN.
As per BARC data shared by Krishnan, 22.4 million viewers sampled volleyball in the Asian Games, and 54.3 million viewers watched it at the Olympics. India was lacklustre at the Asian Games and did not even feature in the Olympics. The sport is also popular among women viewers.
