With only weeks to go for the start of the National Football League, the All-India Football Federation is unsure about what it can get from its targeted sponsor, Reliance.
The AIFF wants Rs 80 million, but Reliance is ready to give only half that amount.
"In fact, we are finding it difficult to get Reliance to cough up more than Rs 35 million," a senior AIFF official told rediff.com.
So, a deal is far from clinched, and even with time ticking away, nobody in the federation is any the wiser about when and where the money to run the NFL is going to come from.
"The AIFF top brass is on the job. It is unfortunate that we still haven't got Reliance to say yes, even though the Indian football team performed so impressively in the Afro-Asian Games," said the source.
India bagged the silver medal in football, losing to a higher-ranked Uzbekistan in the final. The country's football fraternity is hoping the good showing will mean a deluge of sponsors for the national team. But so far no such luck.
It is also unknown what the AIFF's marketing agent is doing to attract sponsors for the NFL and national team.
Whatever the means, the AIFF has to get a good sponsorship deal to ensure there is no resentment among the leading clubs, some of which, like East Bengal, are already demanding a bigger winner's booty for the NFL.
East Bengal is also demanding hikes in appearance money and the victory per-match money.
The AIFF last year gave away prize-money to seven top first division teams, with the winner taking home Rs100,000 and the runner-up Rs 40,000.
The appearance money paid to each of the 12 teams was Rs 100,000. The incentive for winning each match was Rs 20,000.
East Bengal officials claim they have the support of other clubs like Vasco and Churchill Brothers.
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