Backed by a healthy viewership, brands associating with the third season of Indian Super League football championship are set to reap benefits as the third season of format kicks in.

While the first season of ISL had seen sponsors pump in ₹55 crore, the second season saw a close to ₹100 crore through sponsorship. Industry watchers says that since the current season is being held during the festival period, more sponsors may back the tournament to create a high impact visibility.

Industry sources expect the number to touch close to 25 this year compared to 17 last season.

Besides title sponsors Hero, several brands such as DHL, Muthoot, Amul and Maruti have continued their association. Hero already has rights for the title sponsorship as they had availed it for a three-year period.

Star and IMG-Reliance together market the ISL. Industry sources said that while the title sponsor spends anywhere between ₹18-20 crore, the associate sponsors put in about ₹6-8 crore. Others like shirt sponsorship stands at ₹3-5 crore while kit sponsorship stands at ₹6 crore.

“Last year, we got high brand recall in television, social media and also digital medium. We are expecting 20 per cent increase in brand recall in the third season,” RS Subramanian, SVP & Country Manager, DHL Express, India told Business Line .

DHL is the associate sponsor for the third season which started from October 1. The eleven-week football league, scheduled from 1 October to 18 December 2016, features Indian and international players in eight teams playing 61 matches in eight cities across the country.

TVS Tyres, which is the title sponsor Chennaiyin FC team too expects a rocking season.

P Vijayaraghavan, Director, TVS Srichakra Ltd. said, “This partnership is an exciting platform to reach out to our customers and we are confident of elevating our brand recall to a much larger audience and feel that it will add value to our brand and business.”

The Muthoot Group announces association with the league for the third consecutive year.

To commemorate the League, The Muthoot Group is also producing attractive limited edition HISL gold coins.

As per available data, best teams notched sponsorships deals between ₹15-20 crore. Sources indicate that Atletico de Kolkata has bagged sponsorship worth ₹14 crore while FC Goa bagged close to ₹6 crore.

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