The initiative was announced by Snehal Parikh, Hon. Jt. Secretary-Baroda Cricket Association; Sachin Dalvi, Hon. Jt. Secretary Baroda Cricket Association; and P. N. Sankaran, Director Operations, Procam International; at a press event organized at the Royal Orchid in the city on Oct. 12. The winners of the Vadodara city finals will win a prize of Rs. 50,000 while the runner-up team will win a cash prize worth Rs. 30,000.

The tournament will run for the duration of approximately 22 days, including the Diwali vacation in 65 districts in eight states and two centres, under the aegis of the respective state cricket associations. The tournament will involve participation from over 11,000 young cricketers from 700 schools. While all the teams reaching the quarter-finals stage will be presented with T-shirts and caps, the members of the teams that make it to the semi-finals will be presented with cricket kitbags. In addition, there will also be man of the match awards for each match from the quarter-final stage onwards.

Speaking about the initiative, Anupama Ahluwalia, VP-Marketing, Coca-Cola India and South-West Asia said: "Our purpose of getting into a grass root sports tournament is twofold. On one hand, it helps identify and promote young talent and helps us get young children into sports arenas and grounds. On the other hand, sports also promotes social cohesiveness and well-being and hence, Coca-Cola has always taken a very active position in sports. This initiative has components of coaching, and education in sports medicine and nutrition."

Elaborating on the initiative, P. N. Sankaran, Director Operations, Procam International said: "This partnership will enable us to encourage young cricketing talent in the country and serve as an ideal platform to promote grass root cricket. With India's vast population and geographical spread, it is not easy for talented players to find the right platform and emerge into the spotlight. The Coca-Cola U-16 Cricket Cup aspires to be that platform for every deserving cricketer, so that great talent never goes unrecognized."