"At the moment worth more than 20 crores", said P Bhaskaran, Chairman of Viva Kerala after Kerala Sports Minister M. Vijayakumar presented the team with the cheque of 25 Lakhs at BTH Hotel on Friday.
The award was announced by the state government two years ago when Viva Kerala qualified for the i-league for the first time, and came at a vital moment when Viva is still on hunt for a good sponsor for the team.
Sports Minister also promised that the government will financially help the club in future too. "We will financially help the club in future too, we will discuss and decide"
Viva Kerala is the only club representing south India in I league. With the transfer season going on and few of the vital players moving out of the club, this amount would make a huge difference to Viva's purchasing power. Meanwhile coach Sreedharan mentioned that the club is in lookout for a "solid player".
Viva Chairman P Bhaskaran also has called for the support of every footballing fan in Kerala to come forward to put up a Fan Club for Viva.
Many of the Viva Kerala squad members including the recent signing from Air India, goalkeeper Sharat EC was also present at the function.
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Friday 12 June 2009, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.