PRESS RELEASE TOP STARS FOR WORLD SERIES HOCKEY
176 leading players sign for the Big League
Eight teams will vie for supremacy from Dec. 15- Jan 22 Indian & global stars to exhibit their skills across eight cities
Matches to be televised live across 30 countries
Mumbai, July 21, 2011: Indian hockey fans brace yourselves for the Big League! The inaugural edition of the World Series Hockey will be played from 15th December, 2011 to 22nd January, 2012 and will involve 176 leading players -- Indian and International -- who will showcase their talent in 61 matches played across eight cities. World Series Hockey will be a multi city franchise-based League with the players being allocated to the teams based on the internationally accepted and practiced „Draft‟ system.
"The inaugural edition of the league comprises of eight teams and players have signed contracts for the next three years," said Yannick Colaco, COO Nimbus Sport at a press conference at Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.
"All India internationals have signed on the dotted line," Colaco added. "We‟re also extremely pleased to confirm the participation of international hockey stars from Australia, Argentina, Spain, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, Pakistan, New Zealand and South Korea.
At the Press Conference, World Series Hockey also revealed the eight Team captains who are Indian Internationals Sardara Singh, Adrian D’Souza, Arjun Halappa and Prabhjot Singh; Brent Livermore from Australia, Pakistan‟s Rehan Butt, former Spanish captain Rodrigo Garza and Argentinian “All Star” Lucas Vila
Speaking on the occasion Harish Thawani, Executive Chairman, Nimbus Communications Ltd, expressed delight at the overwhelming support for the World Series Hockey showered by the players and exuded confidence that the WSH will change the complete landscape of hockey in India.
For the first time in hockey, these players will be financially rewarded and will have a global platform to exhibit their skills. The legacy created by the upgrade of hockey infrastructure across the country will benefit the sport of Hockey for generations to come," he said.
RK Shetty, President, Indian Hockey Federation is upbeat on World Series Hockey. "It will certainly do wonders for our National sport," he said. The league, he felt, would give youngsters an opportunity to soak up all the styles, techniques and nuances of a sport that never ceases to evolve, besides bonding with the top stars. Shetty added that "The tussle for supremacy will present intense clashes and draw fans back to the stadiums,"
Some of the Indian and global stars who will be seen in action in World Series Hockey include Lucas Villa and Pedro Ibarra from Argentina, Pakistan‟s Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi along with Rodrigo Garza (Spain), Brent Livermore (Australia), Jiwa Mohan (Malaysia) and Sung Min Lee (South Korea), India‟s Rajpal Singh, Sandeep Singh, Adrian D‟Souza, Sardara Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Arjun Halappa, Diwakar Ram, Bharat Chetri, Dhananjay Mahadik, Shivendra Singh, Mandeep Antil, S.V. Sunil, Roshan Minz, William Xalxo and Prabodh Tirkey. The star studded line up ensures the league will be vibrant and competitive, and focus the global spotlight on India.
World Series Hockey has also confirmed six of the eight hosting cities for the first edition. The confirmed participating cities are Delhi, Punjab, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The slots for the two remaining cities will be finalized from a shortlist of the following: Bhopal, Pune, Rourkela, Ranchi, Manipur, Lucknow and Kolkata.
Latest updates, player interactions and much more is available on facebook page www.facebook.com/worldserieshockey and the official website www.worldserieshockey.com .
About World Series Hockey™
A joint initiative between the Indian Hockey Federation (“IHF”) and Nimbus Sport, World Series Hockey™ was conceived with the objective of reinvigoration the sport of hockey in Indian and making hockey the “sport of choice” for young Indians. For the first time a significant guaranteed investment into infrastructure and players will give the game a big boost. With a total prize purse of approximately US $2 million, the World Series Hockey™ will be an annual event with a multi city franchise-based model. The inaugural tournament will be played with eight teams across India. . The action packed league of 61 matches featuring 176 players from India and across the world will be televised LIVE across 30 countries on multiple media platform
About Nimbus Sport:
Nimbus Sport, a subsidiary of Nimbus Communications Limited, is a leading full sports rights management and marketing company providing a complete range of solutions in sport, from on- ground to on-air. Nimbus markets the global media rights for all International cricket played in India in an exclusive arrangement with the BCCI. In addition to the rights acquired from the BCCI, it has acquired and manages certain rights with respect to other sports federations, including Bangladesh Cricket Board, Asian Cricket Council, Indian Premier League, Indian Golf Union and Singapore Cricket Association. Nimbus Sport is also a leading producer of the World Feed for LIVE sports events and has produced over 4,000 hours of LIVE content for sports events.
For further information, please contact:
Salil Khandeparkar Jitendra Jha / Peter Rodrigues Nimbus Sport Adfactors PR +91 22 26352000 +91 9920829216 / +91 9867667031 [email protected] [email protected]/[email protected]