There are no takers for the country’s premier football competition, the Indian Super League (ISL), at least in the way All India Football Federation (AIFF) envisages it.
Last month, the governing body invited tenders from companies with a minimum net worth of Rs 250 crore to bid for the ISL commercial rights and put forward a set of conditions. Some of them were that for the duration of the partnership — 15 years — the winning bidder would pay the AIFF Rs 37.5 crore each year, or 5 percent of the gross revenue, whichever was higher, mandatory promotion and relegation, parachute payments for relegated teams and gradual adoption of the Video Assistant Referee.
The interested parties had till November 7, 5pm to submit the tenders. But on Friday, when the deadline expired, the AIFF, embarrassingly, did not have a single bid. And now, the future of the ISL — at a time when men’s football is going through one of its darkest phases — looks uncertain once again.
”The financials did not work out,” said one source. “What the AIFF demanded did not seem sustainable and so, after the initial interest, there were no formal bids.”
For the last 15 years, Indian football was run by the Football Sports Development Limited, a joint venture between Reliance Industries and JioStar, after the AIFF awarded them commercial rights for Rs 700 crore. The FSDL has run the ISL since its inception in 2014. However, the 15-year agreement ends on December 8.
To invite new bidders, the AIFF floated a Request for Proposal on October 16, seeking a partner to handle ISL’s commercial rights, which included broadcast deals, sponsorship, digital, and merchandising operations, among others.
Four parties showed interest reportedly, which included Fancode, owned by Dream Sports, Conscient Heritage Group and a foreign consortium apart from FSDL. After multiple rounds of discussions and one deadline extension, none of the parties have come forward, primarily due to the financial model.
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The failed process leaves the AIFF cornered. They hoped that awarding the rights on their terms would bring financial sustainability to a cash-strapped federation. However, it has left them in an even more vulnerable situation with very little room for negotiation going forward.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
