By Mark Baber
August 2 – Nike has extended its apparel sponsorship deal with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) till 2017 whilst the AIFF continues its moves towards the creation of an IMG-Reliance League to run separately to the I-League.
The new sponsorship deal means Nike will continue to provide AIFF team kits across all age groups in India.
Kushal Das, general secretary of the AIFF said: “Nike has always provided our players with the best in design and innovation to focus on their performance. We are extremely pleased that Nike will continue as the official apparel sponsor of the Indian football team until 2017, and we truly believe that this partnership will grow from strength to strength.”
A new kit will debut as the national team plays Tajikistan on August 14.
Meanwhile, the AIFF has also reportedly given the go-ahead for a new IPL-style league which will be held by its commercial partners IMG-Reliance early next year. According to AIFF president Praful Patel: “Through this tournament we are looking for the popularisation of Indian football and taking the game to the masses. I-league and this tournament will go hand-in-hand.”
The I-League clubs have been adamant they will not release players for the new league, but Patel claimed: “There is no real issue among the AIFF, IMG-R and the I-league clubs. I-league is our number one priority and it will remain so in future also. We will strictly implement AIFF club licensing criteria for professionalising the clubs and all the issues will be sorted out amicably.”
The proposed IMG-R league has generated a lot of press in recent months, and the project does seem to be gaining some momentum. AIFF senior vice-president Subrata Dutta said that the executive committee was unanimous in giving the green signal to the league with and auction for franchises in Pune, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Goa, Delhi and Bangalore planned in September or October and the competition tentatively scheduled for January 18 to March 30 2014.
Dutta said that the current I-League clubs can bid for franchises. “The tournament will feature 176 players with 22 in each team. There will be an icon player for each team. There will be nine more international players in each team, eight Indian players from domestic league and four local players from the city and surrounding areas,” said Dutta.
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