It's Coal India HIL 2016 from Jan 18 to Feb 21

THE FOURTH EDITION of the Hockey India League will have Coal India Limited as its title sponsor. The month-long field hockey tournament featuring 6 franchises was looking for a new title sponsor since Hero, who sponsored the first 3 seasons, decided to separate from the league.

The total sponsorship fee to be paid by CIL for having their name on the HIL 2016 season is Rs 14.73 crore. The company's HR Director R MohanDas told PTI,

"The amount includes the sponsorship fee of Rs 13 crore as well as cash awards to Coal India Best Goal of the Match in each of the matches and Coal India Most Valuable Player of Season and other expenses."

The HIL 2016 will be played between January 18th and February 21st, with a total of 34 matches including semi-finals and the final. Mohan Das added,

"Hockey always enjoyed popularity in the country and we were once at the pinnacle of this game globally. Basically, our intent is to encourage sports, especially hockey."