Odisha’s State Government Continues Backing Indian Hockey 

The state government of Odisha has inked out an extension for the next ten years with the Indian National Hockey Team. 

Following the renewal, the partnership will run till end of January 2033. The state cabinet approved an extension of the sponsorship agreement for both the men’s and women’s Indian National Hockey Teams for the next decade. 

The Odisha government has been the official sponsor of both the men’s and women’s national hockey teams since 2018. The collaboration is often viewed as a huge step forward in the resurgence of hockey in India. In recent times, both the men’s and women’s national teams have made impressive strides in the global scale. For example, the men’s team claimed their bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics after 41 years in the wilderness while the women’s team qualified for the semi-final stage of Olympics for the first time. 

Previously, after receiving government approval, Odisha Mining Corporation Limited (OMC) agreed to sponsor all Indian national Hockey Teams for a five-year period from 2018 to 2023.  

After a cabinet meeting, the Chief Secretary of the Odisha Government, P.K. Jena, confirmed to the request for the deal’s renewal from the President of Hockey India. This will see OMC  continuing to partner with the Indian national hockey team’s till 2033, and a total amount of about US$52.5m (Rs 432.12 crores) will be released by OMC to the sport’s governing authority during this period.   

With this partnership, the Odisha government also hopes to push the youth in the state to take up hockey and also develop brand visibility of the state as a global hub of hockey.

According to ASN data, Odisha is the 5^th biggest player (5.7%, slightly over US$10.7m) in the government body category across the Asian sponsorship market since Q320 and its current deal would likely consolidate its position for the near future.