Kho Kho World Cup secures Rs 40 crore in brand sponsorships, more deals expected

New Delhi: Bringing Kho Kho to the mainstream, the International Kho Kho Federation is organising the Kho Kho World Cup from January 13 to January 19, 2025, at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.

Despite cricket's dominance in India, the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) is determined to elevate this traditional sport to new heights, and they've already secured Rs 40 crore in brand sponsorships to help achieve that goal.

Shedding light on what marketing for the cup entails, Mandeep Malhotra, CMO of the Kho Kho Federation of India, said, "The goal for us is to take Kho Kho to the Asian Games by 2030 and to the Olympics by 2032.” 

Malhotra told BestMediaInfo.com that the KKFI is spending Rs 85 crore on the World Cup, and it has already raised Rs 40 crore on the sponsorship, and more cash is supposed to come in as well. 

Malhotra said, “From the corporate landscape, around eight or nine brands are close to finalising agreements, which is very encouraging. Active conversations are happening, and I believe that by the end of the day, I will have closed deals with around 10 more brands waiting to sign. 

It is important to note that it is not a corporation running the World Cup, but the Federation. The Federation isn't wealthy; they rely on daily efforts to secure resources. Brands have started engaging a bit late, but we can't complain.” 

Malhotra mentioned that the Odisha government announced a Rs 15 crore sponsorship for the Indian team. 

The World Cup boasts a diverse range of sponsors, including:

• EaseMyTrip: Managing travel logistics for international teams.

• GMR Aero: Providing airport meet-and-greet services and facilitating immigration processes.

• District by Zomato & insider.in: Modernising the ticketing system.

• Blackberrys & Tata Taneira: Creating ceremonial and ethnic wear for athletes.

• Shiv Naresh: Providing official kits for all teams.

The tournament will enjoy extensive media coverage, with Star Sports, Doordarshan, and Disney+ Hotstar broadcasting the games to an estimated 300 million viewers worldwide. Grant Thornton and Deloitte have also joined as consulting partners, providing expertise in sports development and sustainable event management.

It has often been observed that offshore gambling platforms engage in surrogate advertising by coming as sponsors of teams in multiple leagues, as they are not allowed to advertise legally.  

Furthermore, Malhotra highlighted other initiatives being undertaken to market the World Cup.  

In the words of Malhotra, “First of all, we are very thankful to Salman Khan and Tiger Shroff, who came on board in full support of Kho Kho. This is a big endorsement and accomplishment for a sport like Kho Kho. Then we focused on getting the athletes involved. Abhinav Bindra led the flag and was the first to showcase his support for Kho Kho. 

The entire Bollywood industry has come together. Vivek Oberoi, Ananya Panday, and Madhur Bhandarkar have all unconditionally supported us. Madhur Bhandarkar even visited our office to wish us well and bless us, saying, "The time has come for the world to go home." We have received a lot of encouragement from Bollywood. Additionally, we initiated a school contract program targeting 680 districts in India, aiming to get 10 lakh kids to register and enrol for Kho Kho.” 

Speaking of the media mix employed by the federation to market the World Cup, “30% of the spends were allocated to out of home, and the rest of the spends went to digital, TV, and radio.”

“We are currently using extensive out-of-home advertising and radio. I strongly believe that an audiovisual medium in an unexpected form will deliver much more. When I say audiovisual, I mean we use radio and out-of-home advertising collectively to build the entire story for Delhi and NCR. The reason for focusing on Delhi and NCR is primarily because the call to action (CTA) is in and around the capital of the country. We use digital extensively to generate awareness about making the players stars and elevating the sport to what it is today. 

That was the combination we used, and TV, largely news, to inform how the teams were getting ready. I know that Holland could be a very interesting competition for India, and Nepal is really putting in a lot of effort. So, we use digital and broadcast TV for those purposes a lot. Print media is more towards the end, and we are now going to engage with it more for announcements just about two days before the World Cup.”

Coming on the challenges faced while marketing Kho Kho, Malhotra mentioned that very few marketers in India are risk takers. “Sadly, the life of marketers is limited to quarterly results, and building stories and brands is taking a back seat. These were some of the challenges, and that's why we are a little late in collecting funds. Nevertheless, we are putting up a brilliant show for the world to watch.”

Wrapping it up, Malhotra gave his final remarks and said, “It's time for Indian sports to gain the recognition they deserve, appreciating the unique body types and skill sets of Indian athletes. When we compete in Western sports and face setbacks, it is disheartening for the 1.4 billion people who support them. With the Kho Kho World Cup, we hope to take Indian sports to the world.”