New Delhi: In a positive news for Indian football, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced that IMG Reliance, the joint venture between IMG Worldwide and Reliance Industries, has acquired all the commercial rights of football in the country.
The 15-year agreement, calls for IMG Reliance, in cooperation with the AIFF, to improve, popularize and promote the game of football throughout India, from the grassroots to the professional level.
The agreement includes sponsorship, advertising, broadcasting, merchandising, film, video and data, intellectual property, franchising and new league rights.
Recently, the Indian federation amicably negotiated an early termination of their existing commercial arrangement with Zee Telefilms Limited. AIFF acknowledged the great contribution to the sport that Zee had made during their involvement.
The AIFF has also mandated IMG Reliance to develop the branding and marketing aspects related to national team, domestic competitions and participating teams. It would also look at scheduling, restructuring and reformatting of the domestic competitions.
In addition, IMG Reliance plans to develop, operate and administer a new professional football league in the country. Through AIFF, IMG Reliance will also work with the member associations in developing these various proposals.
IMG Reliance and the AIFF will work together to develop Indian football talent, significantly impact the competitive level of the sport as well as attract high quality international players.
This will include training facilities, modeled on IMG Academies in Bradenton, Florida,
This agreement with the AIFF follows IMG Reliance's recent similar announcement of acquiring the commercial rights of basketball in India, in cooperation with the Basketball Federation in India.
“The AIFF has a vision for the sport of football in the country. Our engagement with IMG Reliance comes at a pivotal stage of this pursuit to enhance the quality of football and develop the sport across the country.
"IMG Reliance brings together an unparalleled advantage of the execution capabilities of Reliance and the global expertise in marketing and development of sports of IMG. We have shared our learnings of the past and agreed on the tasks in hand as we embark on this exciting journey with them,” said Praful Patel, President, AIFF.
Commenting on the development, Mrs. Nita Ambani, Member on the Board, IMG Reliance said, “As the youth of India make a mark in the global stage, we need to invest in developing platforms which can help our talent to realize their potential.
"IMG Reliance is committed towards developing these platforms and the tie-up with the All India Football Federation is a significant step in this direction. I am thankful to Shri. Praful Patel and all the senior office bearers at AIFF and it is a privilege to partner them in the joint pursuit of developing Indian football to its truest potential.”
"We are incredibly excited about the future of football in India,” said Ted Forstmann, Chairman and Chief Executive of IMG Worldwide.
"It is the second most popular sport in the country with a massive and passionate fan following. The excitement and exuberance that was evident in the streets of the major cities in India during this year's World Cup, as well as the estimated 110 million Indian television viewers of the games, is a good indication of potential for future success.
"With the cooperation and participation of the AIFF, IMG Reliance is committed to making football a commercially exciting and successful sport in India. In a country with a population of 1.2 billion people and incredibly talented athletes, it’s a realistic goal that India aims for a future World Cup berth. Together with our Indian Basketball deal, this gets IMG Reliance off to a fantastic start,” Forstmann concluded.
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