Category: Sports

Mumbai: FanCode, India’s premier sports destination, will exclusively live stream the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship. All the matches will be played in Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru. The tournament will kick off on 21 June and run till 4 July, with a total of 15 matches being played.

Fans will be eagerly anticipating the India-Pakistan clash, scheduled for the opening day at 7:30 PM. India will then face Nepal on 24 June, before ending the group stage with a game against Kuwait on 27 June.

Football fans can watch all the action on FanCode’s mobile app (Android, iOS, TV), TV app available on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Jio STB, Samsung TV, Airtel XStream, OTT Play and www.fancode.com

The other group consists of Lebanon, Bhutan, Maldives and Bangladesh. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.

India comes into the tournament as defending champions and will be high on confidence after its recent success in the Hero Intercontinental Cup. Some of the marquee players in action will include captain Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Lallianzuala Chhangte and Lalengmawia Ralte.

FanCode’s collaboration with SAFF Championship further strengthens its commitment to providing unparalleled access to live Indian football content to its growing user base. The platform previously streamed the Hero Super Cup, Santosh Trophy, Stafford Challenge Cup, Kerala Premier League and Goa Professional League.

With interactive streaming features such as live stats, data, and analysis on the match screen, FanCode’s digital-first streaming gives sports fans an immersive experience. FanCode is also offering tour passes at affordable prices for fans apart from monthly and yearly subscriptions.

Mumbai: Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) in a pathbreaking partnership with Aatral, one of the leading metaverse solutions companies in India, aims to revolutionise fan engagement by creating an immersive and interactive virtual experience for table tennis enthusiasts for the very first time. Aatral, renowned for its expertise in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) development, will collaborate with UTT as its official metaverse partner to create next-level fan experience, and engagement and establish the league’s prominent presence in the virtual world. 

Recognising the immense potential of the gaming industry and its significance in India, UTT is committed to providing fans with innovative ways to connect with the sport. The partnership also signifies their shared commitment to innovation and fan-centric experiences.

“We know that sports have always been a powerful force that unites people from diverse backgrounds. Through this collaboration in the Metaverse, UTT and Aatral will offer fans a distinctive environment with a variety of gaming options and table tennis-related experiences. These games will deliver an unprecedented degree of immersion by utilising VR, AR and mixed reality to transport players across borders,” commented UTT co-promoter Vita Dani.

Three to four table tennis-themed mini-games will be available to fans. Aatral will create a fan-engaging environment in 3D space which will allow fans to download and play the application from the Google Play Store, App Store and UTT website by the end of June 2023. These downloadable games will enhance the interactive capabilities of mobile devices to further increase fan involvement. Fans will be able to enjoy the thrill of table tennis not only during the league but anytime, anywhere with this portable gaming experience, giving the sport to connect the fans at their fingertips. 

“We are thrilled to announce our association with the Ultimate Table Tennis team, the first of its kind in the metaverse for table tennis. At Aatral, we are committed to providing our users with immersive and interactive experiences that bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds. By partnering with UTT, we are enabling our users to enjoy the thrill of table tennis in a new and exciting way, as well as creating opportunities for social connection, learning, and entertainment. We are looking forward to being part of this groundbreaking event in sports leagues in the country!” stated Aatral Founder and CEO, Prem Balachandran.

As part of this collaboration, UTT and Aatral will also set up experiential stalls across select venues to reach out to students, youth and table tennis fans, featuring interactive stations where fans can don VR/AR equipment and engage in the virtual table tennis matches like never before. 

By embracing the multiverse environment, UTT aims to create a lasting impact on fan engagement, providing an unparalleled platform for fans to connect with their favourite sport and players in ways they have never imagined.

Promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the auspices of the Table Tennis Federation of India, UTT Season Four will be played at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune from 13 to 30 July. Bengaluru Smashers, Chennai Lions, Dabang Delhi TTC, Goa Challengers, Puneri Paltan Table Tennis and U Mumba TT are the six franchisees that will compete for the title with live action being broadcasted on Sports 18 and streamed on JioCinema.

Mumbai: The Indian League of Legends team that will be representing the nation in the 19th Asian Games 2023, has departed for Macau to lock horns against Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan to determine the seeding for the prestigious tournament in Hangzhou.

The proficient unit led by captain Akshaj Shenoy, and comprising star athletes Samarth Arvind Trivedi, Mihir Ranjan, Aditya Selvaraj, Aakash Shandilya, and Sanindhya Malik will take on Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan on June 21 before going head to head against Kyrgyzstan on June 22.

The five-man team demonstrated exceptional skills to qualify for the Asian Games through the National Esports Championships (NESC) that were organized by the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) and is determined to make their mark against the top League of Legends teams to secure a favourable seeding.

Sharing his thoughts on how well prepared the team is to represent the country and how ESFI supported in their journey, Akshaj Shenoy, captain of the Indian League of Legends team commented “With the event for the Central and South Asia region starting in 2 days, our team feels very confident going forward into the event. We’ve received training from the Esports and Training organization, FITGMR, which has partnered with ESFI to provide coaching to all the games associated with the event. A few of our players were unable to confirm their participation as exams and deadlines approached, and it was ESFI that helped us by sorting them out which meant that all main members of the team could take part in the event. We are extremely excited and are ready to give it our all to make our country and our supporters proud!”

While Esports was included as a demonstration title in 2018, it is going to make its full-fledged debut as an official medal event at the Asian Games 2023 where India will be participating in four titles – League of Legends, FIFA Online 4, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, and DOTA 2.

“The journey of the League of Legends team from where they started till now has been extremely commendable. We have witnessed the team’s growth and the players’ determination to secure their berth for the Asian Games and hence, are confident that they will showcase India’s Esports potential on the international stage. Everyone at ESFI wishes them the best of luck for the fixtures in Macau and encourages everyone to support the team as it strives for success,” said Esports Federation of India director & Asian Esports Federation (AESF) vice president Lokesh Suji.

Initially scheduled for September last year, the Asian Games will now be held from 23 September to 8 October. This multi-nation event will cement Esports’ entry into the mainstream sports landscape of India.

One of the country’s top sports & esports communication agencies, Artsmith-Concepts & Visions, will continue its support to the Esports Federation of India as their official communication partner.

The seeding fixtures for the DOTA 2 team comprising skipper Darshan, Krish, Abhishek, Ketan, and Shubham will be conducted online on July 13 while Street Fighter V athletes Mayank Prajapati and Ayan Biswas will be travelling to Hangzhou, China for their respective seeding fixtures from 22–23 July.

The dates for the seeding matches of FIFA Online 4 athletes Charanjot Singh and Karman Singh Tikka will be announced soon by the AESF.

Mumbai: HOP Electric, an electric two-wheeler company, has announced its partnership with the esteemed Rajasthan Raiders team, as a “Powered Sponsored” for the upcoming Women’s Kabaddi League. This sponsorship is an opportunity for HOP Electric to promote women’s sports and foster a culture of inclusivity and empowerment. The sports event will be held from 16 June to 27 June in Dubai.

By leveraging the visibility and excitement surrounding the Women’s Kabaddi League, HOP Electric intends to raise awareness about the benefits of electric vehicles and encourage their adoption across diverse communities. Sponsoring the Rajasthan Raiders in the Women’s Kabaddi League presents an excellent opportunity for HOP Electric to increase electric vehicle awareness in India and globally. The sports event provides the company a platform to showcase its commitment to sustainable mobility and women’s empowerment to a broader audience base.

HOP Electric CMO Rajneesh Singh said, “The partnership between HOP Electric and the Rajasthan Raiders signifies a shared vision of promoting gender equality and empowering women through sports. By extending our support to the Rajasthan Raiders, we aim to contribute to their success. We firmly believe in sports’ power to inspire, empower, and unite individuals. By sponsoring Rajasthan Raiders, we aim to inspire young women to pursue their dreams fearlessly and break down barriers. HOP Electric is honoured to be part of this team.”

Mumbai: JSW Sports, the sporting arm of the $23 billion JSW Group, has announced that it would be part of One Future Football’s (1FF) first-of-its-kind global, digital football league, as one of its founding members. The competition, which kicks off later this month, will see over 250 players from around the world compete in a groundbreaking tournament, where all teams and athletes have been created for the online space. 

JSW Sports’ side, named Bengaluru Phoenix FC,  is co-owned by Indian footballers Sunil Chhetri, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan and cricketers Dhruv Jurel and Shafali Verma, is the only Indian team in the league. One of 12 teams in total, owners in the One Future Football League include Chris Smalling, Jesse Lingard, Patrice Evra, Naomi Osaka, Nick Kyrgios and Kamaru Usman.

“At JSW Sports, our constant endeavour is to push the boundaries of sport, and One Future Football’s digital football league gives us the opportunity to do just that. The potential of Artificial Intelligence in sports is endless, and we are really eager to see this partnership develop. Our sports teams have seen much success in the real world, and we’re hoping that they are able to pick up some silverware in the 1FF League too,” said JSW Sports lead – strategy and legal Karan Bharadwaj.

A 1FF season lasts three months, with 11 weeks of regular rounds, followed by a finals week of play-offs and the grand finale. In keeping with attracting and engaging younger audiences, matches are streamed for free via eight-to-ten-minute highlight packages across social media. 

The sport is powered by two unique artificial intelligence (AI) engines – one in-game and one outside of the field of play. The former determines thousands of outcomes per minute as the teams battle it out on the pitch whilst the latter (a narrative engine) establishes real-world situations for players outside of match days – positive scenarios like visiting charitable causes to more controversial ones like teammates fighting in training. These give 1FF a whole ecosystem for fans to fully immerse themselves in.

“The 1FF team has been working incredibly hard to build a tangible league that appeals to supporters all around the world – wherever they are from. As football fans we see the trends of young people not being able to connect with the sport owing to factors such as the inaccessibility and rising costs of supporting a stadium football team. When you also consider football’s increasing social and environmental impact on the planet we believed something had to be done, otherwise there is a real risk of losing a whole generation of fans,” said One Future Football CEO and co-founder Pete Davis. 

The 11 other teams joining Bengaluru Phoenix FC are FC Angelenos (Los Angeles, USA),  Naija United (Nigeria), Bondi FC (Australia), Clube de Futebol Brasil Amazônia (Brazil), Club Sportivo Palermo (Argentina), Inter Nusantara FC (Indonesia), Manhattan FC (USA), Paris St-Denis FC (France), Riyadh Stars FC (Saudi Arabia), South London United FC (England) and Tokyo Youth Club (Japan). 

Each club has its own bespoke crest, kit and player roster as well as ownership from a-list talent who will lend their own expertise and access to their audiences. More information on 1FF and its League are available on onefuturefootball.com.

Mumbai:  The inaugural edition of the DP World ILT20 made great waves around the world as Gulf Giants lifted the glittering trophy in the 12 February 2023 final at the Dubai International Stadium. The tournament decider was played in front of a packed stadium as the James Vince-led Giants made history by becoming the first-ever champions of UAE’s very own T20 league.

The DP World ILT20 received a great response from cricket fans around the world especially India through broadcast that was available on Zee’s linear and digital platforms with commentary in English, Hindi and Tamil.

According to a research report by one of the leading global sports, sponsorship and entertainment research companies YouGov Sport, the DP World ILT20 Season 1 was the second most-watched league in India.   

The DP World ILT20 gained a reach of 255.4 million fans in India while the TV ratings and reach numbers for the league were 0.19.

The opening edition of the tournament became popular amongst the fans due to the high-quality performances by the biggest assembly of foreign players in any tournament, 118 international players competed in the tournament.

The event captured the imagination of the fans through the broadcast including match highlights and clips that were made available for the fans not only on Zee’s linear and digital platforms but also on the DP World ILT20’s digital platforms. 

The DP World ILT20 2023 edition also made a mark globally with numbers of 367 million worldwide viewership through TV and digital platforms.

ECB general secretary Mubashshir Usmani said, “We are delighted with our broadcast numbers for the inaugural season. The DP World ILT20 made waves around the world including India. The support that the league got speaks volumes about the quality of cricket that the inaugural DP World ILT20 provided to the fans. We are fully focussed on making the second season bigger and better. The DP World ILT20 is here to stay and we have no doubt that with the support of the franchises, our broadcast partners Zee and all our other stakeholders, the league will gain more popularity.”

Zee president- business Rahul Johri said, “The DP World ILT20 season one has been a phenomenal success in India and across the world. It was watched by over 250 million viewers on linear television and digital platforms, making it the second most-watched T20 cricket league in the world.

We are equally delighted that advertisers and distribution partners gained tremendous value from the league. We are extremely proud of our relationship with the Emirates Cricket Board and are confident of scaling bigger milestones in the following years.”

YouGov Sport India managing director Joseph Eapen said, “We, YouGov Sport, the trusted official media evaluation supplier to a wide range of cricket leagues globally, possess comprehensive insights into the crucial success parameters of these leagues. In this regard, DP World ILT20 has proven to be an exceptional success story right from its inaugural season, which is truly commendable.

Notably, DP World ILT20 has achieved a remarkable reach of over 367m unique viewers globally of which more than 250 viewers are from India, according to BARC: a monumental accomplishment unparalleled by any other T20 league, in their first season.”

There is more to come as the DP World ILT2o is set to return with the second edition of the tournament from 13 January 2024. A series of exciting announcements are set to begin soon as the teams prepare for the players’ retention process while lining up potential new recruits from UAE.

Season two will also have a world-class roster of players, while the home-grown and developed UAE talent will once again showcase the cricketing skill, that the country has to offer.

Mumbai: JioCinema has announced the acquisition of digital rights to India’s Tour of West Indies 2023 to live-stream the month-long series that includes two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is.

The all-format bilateral tour starts 12 July with the first Test in Dominica followed by the second in Trinidad. The Test series will mark the beginning of India’s World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. The three-match ODI series begins 27 July and will be played in Barbados and Trinidad. The five-match T20I competition tips off in Trinidad on 3 August, followed by two matches in Guyana and the last two fixtures in Florida, USA. 

After shattering all records, and establishing unprecedented levels of engagement, viewership, and concurrency during the TATA IPL 2023, JioCinema will continue to offer fans their favourite sport in a never-seen-before presentation for free. Viewers will be able to watch the limited-overs action in English, Hindi, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. This will be the first time a bilateral series will be presented in seven languages.

“JioCinema offered a seamless streaming experience that resulted in astonishing benchmarks never heard of. We pushed the boundaries of technological capability to affirm that sports is best experienced digitally,” said Viacom18 – sports head of strategy, partnership & acquisitions Hursh Shrivastava. “With the India Tour of West Indies 2023, we will forge ahead and offer our viewers a world-class presentation.”

The TATA IPL 2023 became the most watched digital event globally as JioCinema has more than 12 crore unique viewers tuned in to watch the most thrilling TATA IPL Finals ever. The excitement and fervour of TATA IPL 2023 reached a fever pitch during the final as JioCinema set a new world record as 3.21 cr. viewers were concurrently watching the action between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings.

Mumbai: AB InBev has extended its nearly 40-year partnership with FIFA as the official beer sponsor of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The two tournaments will make history with notable firsts, providing AB InBev and its leading brands with new opportunities to brew excitement for fans all around the world. The FIFA Women’s World Cup will make its debut in the southern hemisphere in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand next month, with 32 teams also taking part in the competition for the first time. The FIFA World Cup 2026, meanwhile, will be the first to be hosted by three countries, with 48 participating teams and 104 matches in 16 cities across Canada, Mexico and the United States.

“FIFA World Cup tournaments are the most popular sporting events in the world. We are deeply connected to the fans and to football all over the world, which is why we’re excited about extending the relationship with FIFA,” said AB InBev CMO Marcel Marcondes. “Cheering and celebrating over a beer is a part of the experience for billions of football fans. We’re proud to continue offering new, meaningful ways to engage with fans and give unrivalled, immersive experiences that connect them to the sport that they love.”

“We are proud to renew this successful partnership, which will undoubtedly reach new heights in 2023 and 2026,” said FIFA chief business officer Romy Gai. “As one of our longest-standing sponsors, AB InBev’s investment will benefit the game, as well as football development all over the world, while bringing creativity and excitement to the experience that football fans will have during our most iconic tournaments.”

Mumbai: Maharashtra Ironmen in the inaugural edition of the Premier Handball League (PHL) have signed sponsorship deals with the leading sports news & analysis portal DafaNews and packaged-drinking water brand, Oxyrich.

DafaNews has come on board as the title sponsor of the Punit Balan Group-owned team and as part of this deal, their logo will be placed on the front of the jersey. Meanwhile, Oxyrich’s logo will be showcased at the back of the jersey.

“I welcome DafaNews and Oxyrich onboard as sponsors of team Maharashtra Ironmen. The team’s objective will be to go deep into the tournament and I am grateful for the support and faith shown. We have a very balanced team and we are confident that handball, the fastest Olympic sport that Maharashtra Ironmen represents will ensure to make every match exciting for the fans of the game,” commented Punit Balan Group owner and chairman & managing director Punit Balan.

The Punit Balan Group currently owns nine teams across various sports leagues. Apart from Maharashtra Ironmen as part of the Premier Handball League the group also owns Balan Alaskan Knights as the franchise team in the first-ever Global Chess League, Pune Jaguars in Premier Tennis League, Mumbai Khiladis in the Ultimate Kho Kho, Bengaluru Smashers in Ultimate Table Tennis & he also owns teams in Premier Badminton League, Pro Panja and has recently entered the cricketing arena with his maiden venture, Kolhapur Tuskers in Maharashtra Premier League (MPL).

Maharashtra Ironman is part of the ongoing Premier Handball League being played in Jaipur from 8-23 June 2023.