VIDEO: Pepsi T20 Football Grand Finale ESPN episode

Pepsi India has partnered with sports channel ESPN-Star Sports, who will produce and showcase the Pepsi T20 Football tournament in a special 8-episode series. This is the seventh part of the series from the capital New Delhi!



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

VIDEO - NDTV: Discussion on Indian football & Drogba

News channel NDTV aired a football special yesterday coinciding with the visit of international football star Didier Drogba for the Pepsi T20 Football grand finale in the capital New Delhi.

Guests on the show were Indian football icon Baichung Bhutia, Shillong Lajong FC owner Larsing Ming Sawyan and AIFF Director of Regional Academies Scott O'Donell. The trio had an interesting discussion with the moderator on a range of issues besides giving some insights on Indian football.

VIDEO - NDTV: Drogba 'the coach' in Pepsi T20 Football

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba is in New Delhi today for the grand finale of the inaugural edition of the Pepsi T20 Football. Drogba interacted with the Indian media at a press conference and here some of the answers on NDTV 24x7.

Pepsi T20 Football: Didier Drogba comes to Delhi for the Grand Finale!

You've seen them change the game on television many times and this is your chance to see them live in action. Football fanatics not only in Delhi but across the nation are gearing up for the much awaited Grand Finale of Pepsi T20 Football scheduled to take place on June 17 at the Thyagraj Stadium, Shri Ganganath Marg, INA Colony in New Delhi from 13.00 IST onwards.

Present at the event will be none other than Ivory Coast football sensation, Didier Drogba who will coach the national winners of the Pepsi T20 Football amateur tournament, creating waves across the country over the past few months. This team will then get a once in a lifetime opportunity to play an exhibition match with the stars of the Indian cricket team, Mahender Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Vijay. While, the national winning team will be led by avid footballer and youth icon, Ranbir Kapoor, M.S. Dhoni will front the Indian cricket team, and be coached by Baichung Bhutia, the Indian football legend.

Pepsi's first ever football campaign was launched in India with a fun and irreverent film featuring Ranbir Kapoor that set the tone for the real action earlier this year. It was followed by a unique grassroots initiative, Pepsi T20 Football that took football outside the conventional domain, giving it a refreshing twist. The initiative combined the excitement and fun of T20 style of playing cricket with the speed, thrill and spirit of football. Organized in a unique metallic cage, the 20-minute knockout matches were held across major Indian cities - Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ludhiana and Delhi, with phenomenal response. A total of 8-teams, including one winning team from each city and one wild card entry from their Facebook community will compete to emerge as 'Game Changers'.


So what are you waiting for? Go and grab your passes today and save yourselves a seat for the much awaited Grand Finale of Pepsi T20 Football!

More information under www.facebook.com/PepsiIndia

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: Pepsi T20 Football Ludhiana ESPN episode

Pepsi India has partnered with sports channel ESPN-Star Sports, who will produce and showcase the Pepsi T20 Football tournament in a special 8-episode series. This is the sixth part of the series from Ludhiana!






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

VIDEO: Pepsi T20 Football Kolkata ESPN episode

Pepsi India has partnered with sports channel ESPN-Star Sports, who will produce and showcase the Pepsi T20 Football tournament in a special 8-episode series. This is the third part of the series from Kolkata!







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

VIDEO: Pepsi T20 Football Bangalore ESPN episode

Pepsi India has partnered with sports channel ESPN-Star Sports, who will produce and showcase the Pepsi T20 Football tournament in a special 8-episode series. This is the second part of the series from Bangalore!







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

VIDEO: Pepsi T20 Football Chennai ESPN episode

Pepsi India has partnered with sports channel ESPN-Star Sports, who will produce and showcase the Pepsi T20 Football tournament in a special 8-episode series. This is the first part of the series from Chennai!






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

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 !

VIDEO: Pepsi's T20 Football Tournament in Bangalore featuring Kohli

Only a few weeks ago Pepsi India started the new 'Change the Game' campaign in which it is moving away from cricket and towards football. Now Pepsi India is taking the campaign to the next level with a football tournament for amateurs from across India titled Pepsi T20 Football, which simply said is a 5 A-Side tournament.

Here a report by NDTV on the Bangalore-leg of the Pepsi T20 tournament which features Indian cricketer Virat Kohli.

Pepsi India launch Amateur T20 Football Tournament

Only a few weeks ago Pepsi India started the new 'Change the Game' campaign in which it is moving away from cricket and towards football. Now Pepsi India is taking the campaign to the next level with a football tournament for amateurs from across India titled Pepsi T20 Football, which simply said is a 7 A-Side tournament.

The 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.

To be part of the Pepsi T20 Football experience, amateur footballers between the age of 14 - 30 years can register in seven-member teams at designated venues. It is open to all Indians with on ground registrations possible, while the matches will be organized in Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Lucknow, Ludhiana and New Delhi.

The registration process began today in Chennai and the tournament will run until June 2012. 64 teams from each city will compete in the knock-out 20-minute matches and the top 32 will compete in the respective city finales. The city finale will be organized in a unique metallic cage at a public venue with lots of music, fun and Pepsi. A total of eight teams, including one winning team from each city and one wild card entry will compete to emerge as 'Game Changers'. The winners will then get the opportunity to be coached by an international football star before they face the Indian Cricket Stars at the Grand Finale.

The tournament will be supported by a 360-degree approach 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 in a special 8-episode series, starting April 2012.

To register go to www.pepsichangethegame.com .