Didier Drogba to be star attraction at Pepsi T20 Football finals!

Pepsi India have confirmed that Chelsea FC's hero of Saturday's UEFA Champions League final in Munich Didier Drogba will be in New Delhi on June 17 for the grande finale of the Pepsi T20 Football.

"To take the excitement around our grassroots initiative, Pepsi T20 Football to the next level, we are proud to bring one of the world's most exciting footballer, Didier Drogba to India," said Homi Battiwalla, Category Director - Colas, Hydration and Mango Based Beverages, PepsiCo India.

The long-time Ivory Coast international Didier Drogba has been a global brand ambassador for Pepsi since 2009 and him coming to India for the grande finale less then a month after winning the UEFA Champions League adds a lot of weight to an already very successful campaign for Pepsi India.

The winning team of the national finals will get a once in a lifetime opportunity to be coached by Drogba, before they face the Indian cricketing stars in a fast paced game of Pepsi T20 Football.

"Over 448 teams have played the 20-minute knock-out matches over the last few weeks. The winning teams across cities are now gearing up for the national finale scheduled to take place on 17th June in New Delhi," Homi Battiwalla added.

For the last few month's now Pepsi India has been promoting itself through football under the 'Change the Game' banner. It all started with an ad with Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, was followed by the Pepsi T20 Football, then a commercial with Chelsea trio (Drogba, Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres) taking on Indian cricketers before hitting the climax with the national finals.

The new Pepsi T20 Football concept is a format for amateurs, which according to Pepsi India combines the excitement and fun of T20 style of playing with the speed, thrill and spirit of football. The winners of this nationwide tournament will get a chance to play football, the Pepsi T20 way, against the Indian cricket stars; while they also will get coached by an to be named international football star for this game.

Played in a unique metallic cage, the initiative is being organised in major Indian cities including Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ludhiana and Delhi, with phenomenal response.

A total of eight teams - one winning team from each city-leg and one wild card entry will compete to emerge as 'Game Changers'.

They will then get the opportunity to be coached by Didier Drogba before they face the Indian Cricket Stars for a game of Pepsi T20 Football at the Grand Finale in New Delhi.


Here the link to my original article from March 2012: Pepsi India launch Amateur T20 Football Tournament !

VIDEO: Latest Pepsi Film - Footballers vs Cricketers!

The latest ad is a really funny one by Pepsi India! It features last nights Chelsea FC hero's Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres taking on Team India cricketers in a game of Cricket with elements of football and captain Mahender Singh Dhoni as umpire.

Chelsea Star(s) to grace Pepsi T20 Football finals

The Chelsea FC trio Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres and Didier Drogba are all brand ambassadors of global cola brand Pepsi and in that function at least one of them will be in New Delhi for the national finals of the Pepsi T20 Football to coach and work with the winners of the nationals to take on a team made-up of Indian cricketer, who are also brand ambassadors.

There is no involvement from Chelsea FC in this exercise, the players have individual sponsorship deals with Pepsi; but the club surely will not mind the cross-promotion of the club through their players.

All this is set to happen in June 2012, but with Euro2012 taking place in Poland and the Ukraine from June 8 to July 1 the likelihood of Englishman Lampard and Spaniard Torres coming to India seems difficult due to their international commitments. Ivorian Drogba in my opinion looks to be the top candidate at the moment as per the football calendar, but maybe Pepsi India can work around it.

The feedback that I have gotten from people who have participated in the events in Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai has been positive. It is a new concept to mix elements of cricket into football, which can create a hype around the sport.

The Pepsi T20 Football is another step in Pepsi India's 'Change the Game' campaign which has started to promote football at the grassroot level.


Here the link to my original article from last month: Pepsi India launch Amateur T20 Football Tournament !