Nike India on Wednesday announced a three-year partnership with the Mumbai School Sports Association, the only all-encompassing school sports association of its kind in the country.

The deal, beginning July 2007, is aimed at elevating the levels of tournaments and supporting ongoing efforts to provide sports development for the city's school children.

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In the three-year period, Nike will be the official title sponsor for 11 of the 21 tournaments that MSSA organises annually for all age groups in both the boys and girls' categories. These 11 tournaments include athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cricket, football, hockey, lawn tennis, squash, table-tennis and volleyball.

Over 550 schools and 40,000 school children from across Mumbai participate in the MSSA tournaments each year.

Rev. Fr Jude Rodrigues, president MSSA said, "The opportunity to be associated with a global sports major like Nike that brings innovation and inspiration is very exciting. MSSA is a vast pool of talent, waiting to be tapped. This will improve the opportunities and prospects for kids with the potential to become great athletes of tomorrow."

"Innovation is our lifeblood at Nike. There is one idea that underlies the whole partnership: helping kids reach their potential," said Sanjay Gangopadhyay, Marketing Director, Nike India Pvt. Ltd.

"It is our endeavour to bring our experience and innovation into this grassroots initiative that will give promising young athletes the desired exposure and requisite support to pursue their sporting dreams," he added.