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SportzConsult announces Kerala Volleyball League
The first edition of the league will be held in Kozhikode from Feb 20-28, 2010; bidding for the franchisee teams will take place in November
Mumbai based sports management company, SportzConsult, has announced its latest property – the Kerala Volleyball League (KVL). The league will be held in Kozhikode on February 20-28, 2010.
KVL will have six franchised district teams participating in a round robin format, while the two top teams will play the finals. Bidding for the franchisee teams will take place in November.
"Volleyball is extremely popular, visually appealing and attracts crowds. Moreover, Indian volleyball standards are quite high. That was primarily the idea behind creating the property," Jitendra Joshi, chief executive officer, SportzConsult, tells afaqs!.
SportzConsult has roped in South Indian actor Mammootty as the KVL's brand ambassador.
"Mammootty is an iconic figure in Kerala. Moreover, he was also a volleyball player once. Hence, we chose him," Joshi says.
In a press statement, the actor says, "Sports and entertainment always go hand in hand and KVL will definitely become the next big blockbuster of Kerala."
"IPL obviously set the ball rolling in terms of league games in India. Moreover, I stayed in the US for eight years and watched the NBA games there. That is where the idea to start a sports management company and create a property like KVL germinated," he says.
The company has joined hands with the Kerala State Volleyball Association for the league.
Charly Jacob, president, Kerala State Volleyball Association, says, "It is time that volleyball received the attention it deserves. KVL will bring visibility and prominence to the game not only in the state of Kerala but all of India, and hence do justice to this beautiful game. KVL will create an ecosystem that will benefit the players, coaches and fans of the game and it will help in the development of sports in Kerala."
According to Joshi, local games in India today lack the marketing impetus, entertainment quotient and good quality sports action.
"We are tying up with celebrities, local media and quality sportspersons to address the issues. We have already received bids from the US and the Gulf region, and some corporates in Kerala for the franchisee teams," he says.
SportzConsult is in talks with two television channels – Asianet Plus and Surya TV – for live broadcast rights. While most creative works will be handled in-house, the overall campaign duties are with Maitri Advertising Works.
The promotional campaign has been shot and will go on air in two weeks, says Joshi.
The company will bank on ticket sales, proceeds from franchise bids, sponsorships and television rights for revenue.
On the promotion of the event, Joshi says, "There will be a sustained PR effort during the league. We will have on-air ads and will also look at new media such as the social networking space on the Internet and mobile promotions."
SportzConsult is also considering creating similar properties featuring other local sports. Joshi, however, says that it is still premature to talk about them.