Prime Volleyball League signs RuPay as title sponsor for 3 years

RuPay has signed a three year deal with the franchise-based sports league, which is scheduled to start in early 2022.

“We are absolutely delighted to associate with the Prime Volleyball League as the title sponsor for three years,” said Rajeeth Pillai, Chief Relationship Management and Marketing, NPCI. “We believe that the Prime Volleyball League will certainly provide a bigger boost to the growth of the volleyball sport and players in our country and therefore we are excited to play our part in the evolution of volleyball in India.”

The league will feature seven franchises from seven different cities – Calicut Heroes, Kochi Blue Spikers, Ahmedabad Defenders, Hyderabad Black Hawks, Chennai Blitz, Bengaluru Torpedoes, and Kolkata Thunderbolts.

The tournament will consist of 24 games and the player auction will be held in Kochi on December 14.

The Prime Volleyball League will be telecast on the Sony Pictures Network India and is exclusively marketed by sports marketing firm Baseline Ventures.

Gaming company A23 has already joined the league as ‘Powered By’ sponsors in a multi-year deal.

“We are extremely delighted to welcome RuPay,” said Tuhin Mishra, co-founder & MD, Baseline Ventures. “Volleyball is one of the biggest global sports and is hugely popular across the length and breadth of India. Volleyball as a sport is fast-paced, exciting and people from all walks of life play and have played the sport. This sport is a great connection for RuPay as it has so successfully connected the nation with its digital initiatives. RuPay has a strong global footprint as well.”

Prime Volleyball has a similar operating structure to NBA (National Basketball Association), Major League Soccer (MLS) and other US sporting leagues, where team owners are also stakeholders in the respective leagues.

The new structure, baseline Ventures said, will ensure more stable financial support and a smoother organisation, offering more value to franchises – both as team owners and investors – as well as incentivising long term associations.