Indian football received a huge boost with the IFA Shield roping Italian confectionary giant Perfetti as the title sponsor and ESPN-STAR Sports offering to telecast matches live for the first time in the country.
"Perfetti India will be the title sponsor of the 109th IFA Shield football tournament, to be held from September 16 to 28. The tournament will be called Chloromint IFA Shield," a spokesman of ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd told PTI on phone from Delhi on Friday.
Perfetti, having brands like Chloromint and Mentos, will also sponsor the man of the match awards and on-air coverage of two semi-final matches, on September 25 and 26, and the final on September 28.
Perfetti's leading brand 'Mentos' will give away the man of the match awards, titled 'Mentos fresh maker of the day' in both the semifinals and the final.
To add further fizz, ESPN-STAR Sports have appointed noted commentators John Dykes and Jason Dacey for the Shield matches and use EVS technology to ensure coverage is of the highest standard, the spokesman said.
Twelve teams, including East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, are scheduled to take part in the tournament, one of the oldest in India, to be held at five venues in West Bengal.