New Delhi: The All India Football Federation has found itself on a sticky wicket after it received a no-cash deal proposal from its marketing partners in ongoing negotiations over the extension of the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) that ends in December.
The AIFF receives Rs 50 crore per year from Reliance-subsidiary Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) after agreeing to hand over marketing rights of all its properties in 2010 for a 15-year period.
Negotiations for a fresh agreement began in New Delhi on February 5, and two meetings have happened so far, the last of which was held in Mumbai on March 5 with top officials of both organisations in attendance, either physically or virtually.
News9 Sports understands that AIFF’s marketing partners have claimed to suffer a loss of approximately Rs 5000 crore since 2014, when they established the Indian Super League, which attained the status of the country’s topmost competition in the 2019-20 season.
The loss is a cumulative amount of around Rs 2800 crore in operational costs suffered by AIFF’s marketing partners and ISL clubs and approximately Rs 2000 crore for the production and broadcast of matches.
Citing such a heavy hole in their coffers, FSDL, instead of entering into any discussion about renewal of the agreement, has tabled a cashless proposal where they, AIFF and ISL clubs would come together to form an entity to run the premier tournament, the profits of which would be divided among the partners in a pre-agreed ratio.
New ownership structure like European leagues
The English Premier League and La Liga are two of the world’s top-rated competitions that are held following this model of arrangement in which the league promoters, clubs, national federations, and broadcasters all become partners in a profit-sharing model.
The AIFF has been offered 14 per cent in the new entity, with the rest of the shares divided between clubs and FSDL, who remain keen on keeping the rights of the national team too but have pointed out that improved performance of Manolo Marquez’s side is paramount for the growth of Indian football.
They have already let go of the rights to other tournaments like I-League, I-League II, Indian Women’s League, IWL II, Santosh Trophy, Super Cup and age-group national tournaments but retain the right to receive a percentage of sponsorship money.
At around Rs 100 crore, the AIFF’s budget is the highest after cricket among national sports federations (NSFs). In comparison, Hockey India has a budget of about Rs 40 crore.
The AIFF is hugely dependent on the money it receives from its marketing partners and any stoppage of cash flow would be a lethal blow to its activities, which include staging of 18 national-level tournaments and over 1600 matches in a season.
The governing body didn’t offer any immediate reaction and didn’t table any counter-offer after hearing the proposal. Though several more meetings are expected to be held until an agreement could be reached, it has forced its top brass to huddle into an internal discussion to be held in Kolkata on Sunday.
AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey (right) felicitates players of 2024-25 ISL Shield champions Mohun Bagan Super Giant after their match against FC Goa in Kolkata on Sunday. Photo: ISL Media
AIFF’s marketing partners enjoy a right-to-refuse option in the last six months of the deal, and apart from the cashless proposal, the federation has no other offer in hand at the moment.
In any case, a new tender has to be floated, but before that, the federation needs to inform all its state associations, which it is yet to do, though informally some state officials are being kept in the loop.
Due to its sensitive nature, none from the AIFF or its marketing partners were willing to speak on record. But on condition of anonymity, it was said that due to the presence of a trust deficit, matching or even bettering the deal could be a tall order for the federation.
Even if money is offered, it could be significantly less than the current deal, which helps the AIFF to cover its operational costs, which include the organisation of 18 men’s and women’s senior and junior tournaments and payment of salaries of coaching and office staff.
Voices of discontent also exists within the AIFF as some feel that the present management has inordinately delayed having a discussion with its marketing partners, despite receiving repeated reminders from a section of its members for the past 18 months.
Some also allege that despite an uncertain future on the MRA looming large, the AIFF is still going ahead in spending money on several heads, including hiring office staff on fat salaries.
Draft constitution
Negotiations are being held with an eye on the Supreme Court hearings on March 25 and 26 over the adoption of a new AIFF constitution, a draft of which is with the apex court for review.
Any agreement would have to be in line with the draft constitution, in which it has been reportedly stated that AIFF would reserve the right to ownership of its premier tournament even after handing over its marketing rights, which is not the case in the existing arrangement.
That clause, though, has been challenged and could be altered by the Supreme Court.
Negotiations for a fresh agreement between the AIFF and its marketing partners began last month and two meetings have happened so far, with top officials of both organisations in attendance, either physically or virtually. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
