news releases

• Kolkata Police-Coca-Cola Friendship Cup, a one of its kind inter-para tournament was organized in association with Kolkata Police to promote football at the grassroot level.
• Inter-para tournament witnessed participation from over 6000 footballers from 462 paras in Kolkata.
• Mohunbagan Fans Club team captained by Rajiv Ahir won the finals of Kolkata Police - Coca-Cola Friendship Cup, 2010 by prevailing over Lake Gardens Amra Sabai Club team captained by Debashish Roy Talukdar.
• Legendary Brazilian Footballer, Romario D'souza Faria joined the event to encourage the young footballers and felicitate the winners.
• Winners and runners-ups teams of the Kolkata Police – Cola-Cola Friendship Cup were awarded a cash prize of Rs 40,000 each.
• Partnership takes forward Coca-Cola India's commitment to promote a sporting culture and healthy active living in the country.

Kolkata, July 20, 2010: Mohunbagan Fans Club team today prevailed over Lake Gardens Amra Sabai Club team to win the finals of the 'Kolkata Police- Coca-Cola Friendship Cup'. The inter-para tournament was a result of Coca-Cola India's partnership with Kolkata Police to promote football and identify promising talent at the grassroots level. The winning team was felicitated by legendary Brazilian footballer, Romário de Souza Faria along with Sri Kanti Ganguly, MIC, Sundarban Affairs and Sports, Govt. Of West Bengal, Sri Gautam Mohan Chakraborty, IPS, Commissioner of Kolkata Police, P.K Tewari, Chairman and Managing Director, Mahuaa Media Private Limited and Ricardo Fort, Vice-President, Marketing, Coca-Cola India.

Congratulating the winning team, Gautam Mohan Chakraborty, IPS, Commissioner of Kolkata Police said, "We are delighted to receive such an overwhelming response to the 2010 Kolkata Police-Coca-Cola Friendship Cup. This unique initiative aims to scout best football talent from the grassroots level in Kolkata. I would like to thank Coca-Cola India for their support in making this initiative a big success and helping us indentify young promising football talent. I would also like to congratulate the winners of the Kolkata Police - Coca-Cola Friendship Cup".

Kolkata Police- Coca-Cola Friendship Cup is a football initiative rolled out by the Kolkata Police to further promote football in the state. The month long tournament began from 11th June, 2010 till 20th July, 2010. The tournament matches were played between 462 para teams of Kolkata, involving participation of more than 6000 footballers. All matches involving 600 paras were played in 7A Side / 9A Side /11A Side format. Each team consisted of 7 /9 /11 players and had roll on/roll off substitutes. Winners of the Kolkata Police - Coca-Cola Friendship Cup were awarded a cash prize of Rs 40,000 and the runners-up Rs. 25,000.

According to Ricardo Fort, Vice-President, Marketing, Coca-Cola India, "Coca-Cola India has always believed in promoting a healthy, active lifestyle through sports. Our partnership with Kolkata Police is an extension of the Company's worldwide focus on football. The Coca-Cola Company has been the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup™ that began in 1978. We believe that great football talent exists in Kolkata. However, the need is to tap budding talent and nurture them well to bring them up to the international standards".

Adding further Ricardo said, "Initiatives such as the Kolkata Police-Coca-Cola Friendship Cup are part of the same endeavor. This innovative initiative has been designed to not only promote football as a sport, but also bring people together and share their passion for the game. I would also like to congratulate Mohunbagan Fans Club team for winning the finals and extend my congratulations to rest of the teams for making this tournament a huge success".

Excited at winning the finals, Rajiv Ahir, Captain of Mohunbagan Fans Club team said, "It is a proud moment for us to have won the finals of Kolkata Police - Coca-Cola Friendship Cup. It is our perseverance and team work that has helped us win the finals. A big thank you to Kolkata Police and Coca-Cola India for organizing such a wonderful tournament. It truly gives footballers like us a platform to showcase our talent and zeal towards this game."

More about Kolkata Police - Coca-Cola Friendship Cup

The inter-para tournament was played across 18 grounds in Kolkata and was based on the following format:

Round-I:
Participating paras were segregated within the five Divisional Head Quarters of Kolkata Police (North, South, Central, ESD, Port), in all the divisions, Matches were played in Knockout basis. Neutral referee supervised each match. All matches were of 40 minutes duration with two halves of 20 minutes each and a 5 minute break. In the event of a draw, winners were decided basis penalty kick-outs.

Round- II:
2 Teams from each Police Station (from the corresponding Divisional Head Quarters) qualified for Round – II, then they played against each other (Knock Out Basis) and eventually two teams Mohunbagan Fans Club and Lake Gardens Amra Sabai Club entered the finals.

The Coca-Cola Company's Association With FIFA World Cup™

Coca-Cola has been the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup™ that began in 1978. To its credit, the company has had stadium advertising rights at every FIFA World Cup™ since 1950, now the same has been extended for another 16 years i.e. until 2022. The Coca-Cola Company is thus a long-time supporter of football at all levels, from grassroots to the FIFA World Cup™.

FIFA World CupTM Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola In India

On 15^th January, 2010, Kolkata played host to the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour, 2010. The trophy tour sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company involved taking the real solid-gold trophy to 83 countries, allowing thousands of fans to enjoy a rare close-up view of the authentic FIFA World Cup Trophy. The trophy travelled 138,902 kilometers (86,3044 miles) and provided all the Football fans with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy before the tournament kicks off in South Africa on June 11, 2010.

The authentic FIFA World Cup™ Trophy was brought to India for the first time. It is made of solid 18-carat gold, has a height of 36.8 cm and weighs 6,175 grams. The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the Trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974. The India leg of the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour, 2010 involved an exclusive showcase of the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy at the Salt Lake Stadium on 16th January '10 essaying the extraordinary journey of the world's greatest football spectacle. Additionally, on 17th January'10 at the stadium, German Football legend Lothar Mathhaus lifted the original Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup™ Trophy once again, reminding his fans in Kolkata about Germany's historic World Cup win in 1990.

More about Coca-Cola India's Association With Football

Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy (MIHT)

Coca-Cola India has always believed in promoting healthy and active lifestyle through sports. In the year 2009, the company partnered with All India Football Federation (AIFF) to organize Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, a grassroots talent hunt initiative to uncover the most dynamic young footballers in the country. As part of the Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, 20 promising young footballers were identified and short-listed by AIFF and subsequently coached and groomed to form the National Under-16 Sub-junior Team. Out of these 20 young footballers, 16 most promising players were given a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend The Coca-Cola International Football Camp in South Africa during the FIFA World Cup™ 2010. Jharkhand team from the East Zone won the national finals of the 'Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy', 2009.

During their training at the The Coca-Cola International Football Camp in South Africa, the 16 young Indian footballers played a tournament against teams from Egypt, Mexico, Guatemala, Russia, Turkey and Vietnam. All the teams were divided into two groups (Group A and Group B). The Indian team along with Egypt, Mexico and Guatemala formed Group A whereas Group B comprised teams from Russia, Turkey, Vietnam and Egypt. After playing a series of matches against each other, two teams from each group qualified for the Semi-Finals. India topped group A and was accompanied by the Mexican team for the semi-final round, whereas Turkey and Russia qualified from Group B. During the semi-finals, post a closely contested match, Russia prevailed over India to qualify for the finals.

Taking ahead its association with the All India Football Federation (AIFF), Coca-Cola India recently announced the launch of the Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy 2010. The initiative will continue to discover budding football talent in the country and prepare a strong team for the under-16 Indian Football team for 2011. This year, Coca-Cola India has further scaled up the Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy tournament to 75 cities, tapping over 40,000 young footballers from 1500 schools.

Coca-Cola Elliot Shield Trophy Tournament

The Elliot Shield is named after Colonel Elliot, British Administrator in Calcutta, who was an ardent football lover, who donated the Elliot Shield Trophy to IFA. The tournament generated keen competition and great fanfare among colleges such as Presidency, St. Xaviers, Vidyasagar etc. Presidency College has won the Shield eight times during 1894-1914, information unknown to many sports lover and college students of the present day. This year the tournament was organized from 29th December to 16th Januray, 2010. A total of 31 matches were played and involved 32 teams. Charu Chandra College of Kolkata emerged as the winning team of Coca-Cola Elliot Shield Trophy Tournament.