Pepsi launches T20 football tournament for amateurs

Continuing with its focus in football, Pepsico India, has launched a football league format called Pepsi T20 Football.

The tournament has been created for amateurs to participate in from around the country. Winners of the tournament will get a chance to play the Pepsi T20 tournament against players from the Indian cricket team along with getting an opportunity of being coached by an international football star.

Commenting on the initiative, Homi Battiwalla, category director - colas, hydration and mango based beverages, PepsiCo India, said, “Pepsi T20 Football tournament takes forward the philosophy of Change the Game by taking football outside the conventional domain and giving it a refreshing twist. It is a unique grassroots initiative mounted at a never before scale in India that aims to take the excitement around the sport to the next level. With the involvement of Indian cricketers, Bollywood and an international football star; the campaign promises to excite and engage not only the existing passionate football fans but the entire nation.”

The registration process for the tournament begins in Chennai today (14 March) and will continue till June. 64 teams from each city will compete in knock-out style 20-minute matches and the top 32 will compete in the respective city finales.

The tournament will be supported by a 360-degree campaign including on-air, outdoor, on-ground initiatives, special edition packaging and digital engagement programmes. Pepsi has partnered with ESPN Star Sports, who will produce and showcase the tournament through an eight episode series, starting April 2012.