Indian Football Association (IFA), the governing body of football in West Bengal, on Thursday, announced outdoor advertising firm Accord Sports VDK as their new commercial partner.

The deal will see the Accord Sports acting as an exclusive marketing partner of the IFA and bring in sponsors and help the FA to develop football and sports infrastructure in the state.

Welcoming their new commercial partners, IFA general secretary Joydeep Mukherjee stated, “Accord Sports VDK shall, from now on, will own and manage branding, satellite, telecasting, digital, merchandising and naming rights of Calcutta Football League, IFA Shield, Trades Cup to name a few.”

Managing Director of Accord Sports, Sudeep Ganguly suggested that the firm will be committed to helping the IFA to get sponsors and help them in the marketing of football in West Bengal.

“We are determined to yield positive results for IFA and professionally market all properties across the country to our network of corporate associates. We shall use our dedicated team to ensure that there is a steady flow of sponsorship and be the 360-degree marketing solution for IFA,” said Ganguly.

IFA has already started a football academy and is also planning to start a referee’s academy in association with the Calcutta Referee’s Association (CRA). The arrival of a new commercial partner will surely help them in going ahead with their projects for the development of the sport in the state.

Joydeep Mukherjee, who took charge of the IFA as its General Secretary a year ago, has done an exemplary job in uplifting the reputation of the state association. The IFA had recently topped the rankings of All India Football Federation’s ‘Performance Assessment’ for the 2019-20 season.