MUMBAI: The Volleyball Federation of India (VFI) has announced a ten year partnership with sports marketing and branding firm Baseline Ventures to promote and build Indian volleyball.

The agreement was concluded on the sidelines of the 66th Senior National Volleyball Nationals at Calicut with the core committee of the VFI in attendance. The first project on the anvil for the partnership is the Professional Indian Volleyball League with franchises in major cities to be held in October 2018. The league in India will have franchises owning both men and women teams.

The bid documents for the franchises for the new league are expected to be released by the middle of April 2018.

VFI general secretary Ramavtar Singh Jakhar said, “Volleyball is an extremely popular sport around the country, and India has always been competitive at the Asian level. We feel it is the right time to partner with professionals to take the game to the next level in India and continue to grow its appeal, especially with the new generation.”

Baseline Ventures MD Tuhin Mishra said, “We have been working with the top sporting brands including FIFA and the ATP for sponsorship and marketing and have been evaluating all Indian sports for opportunities. As the 6th largest sport in the world, with around 900 million people playing globally, Volleyball has huge potential in India. We see this as an opportunity to really grow Volleyball and help realise its value.”

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