Image not recoveredAll India Football Federation, on Thursday announced that they have signed a contract with IMG Reliance which grants all the commercial rights of football in India to the joint venture between IMG Worldwide and Reliance Industries ‘including sponsorship, advertising, broadcasting, merchandising, film, video and data, intellectual property, franchising and new league rights’ for the next 15 years.
AIFF had recently terminated a contract with Zee Telefilms Limited and was searching for a new partner to develop the game in the country. As per the new deal, IMG Reliance will help to develop the domestic competitions in India and the participating teams. It is also known that IMG Reliance plans to develop, operate and administer a new national football league.
AIFF President Praful Patel was quoted as saying, “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.”
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 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.”
IMG Worldwide is one of the world’s largest sports marketing and management Company. IMG Reliance had earlier teamed up with Basketball Federation of India (BFI).
From the archive. First published on footballkerala.com on Thursday 9 December 2010, restored from the site's 2012 database. Text as originally published.