NEW DELHI: Hockey India has signed a multiyear deal with interactive live streaming platform FanCode who will have the rights to show all the matches played at Hockey India National Championships in India and the Indian sub-continent.
Starting with the 13th Hockey India Senior Women National Championship 2023 scheduled to begin on 15th February in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, each venue will have a three-camera setup to capture and relay the action live and the matches will be held on the same lines as the International Matches with Player of The Match award being given away for every match.
Making all matches viewer-friendly, each of the National Championships will have specific look and feel designs and branding across the venues. Apart from this, the organisers will also adopt features such as Captains line-up for handshake with the dignitaries, post-match presentations, and closing ceremony with trophy presentation ceremony along the lines of any other international tournament.
In a first, the umpires officiating at these National Championships will be provided radios for on-field communication and the Federation is also working on introducing video referral in the National Championships.
Rourkela to host National Championships
Giving upcoming stars an opportunity to perform at a world-class venue, Hockey India will be hosting a total of four National Championships in the newly-build Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha. This includes the 13th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2023 from 13th April to 23rd April, 13th Hockey India Junior Men National Championship 2023 from 28th April to 8th May, 13th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2023 from 13th to 23rd May followed by 13th Hockey India Sub Junior Men National Championship 2023 from 28th May to 7th June.
The 13th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2023, meanwhile, will be held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu from 3rd May to 14th May 2023.
New initiatives a big motivation to players
Talking about these key initiatives, Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said, “We have taken a major step by signing a-multiyear contract with the FanCode who have over 50 million users to show all the National Championship matches live in India and the Indian sub-continent. All matches will also have English commentary which will keep the viewers engaged. I feel this in itself will be a big boost for the players to showcase their talent. We also want to introduce video referral at the domestic level so that players understand the process early in their careers. Our aim is to provide these budding stars the same feel of playing an international match in India.”
Talking about their association with Hockey India, Prasana Krishnan, co-founder of FanCode, said, “We are delighted to be exclusively partnering with Hockey India for this historic milestone of live streaming the Senior Women’s Championship for the very first time and providing a platform for India’s top women hockey players. This is part of FanCode’s aim of making hockey more accessible for sports fans in the country.”
Watch all the action from the 13th Hockey India Senior Women’s Championship 2023 live exclusively on FanCode’s app (Android, iOS, TV), FanCode TV app available on Android TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Jio STB, Samsung TV, and on www.fancode.com. Hockey Fans can watch the tournament for free.
