What seems to be of importance is “Transparent Process for Grant of Commercial Rights.” The submission said that AIFF has agreed to conduct an open tender. “It will conduct a competitive and transparent tender (or equivalent process) for selection of a commercial partner to conduct the ISL in line with global best practices. Such process will be conducted in conformity with the National Sports Development Code 2011, the National Sports Governance Act 2025, the AIFF Constitution, and applicable FIFA/Asian Football Confederation (“AFC”) regulations,” said the submission. The process may be managed by an independent agency and will be concluding by October 15.
“The FSDL on its part has agreed to waive off its contractual Right of First Negotiation and Right to Match under the Master Rights Agreement dated 08 December 2010 (‘MRA’),” said the document.
This was confirmed by M Satyanarayan, Deputy Secretary General of the AIFF. “They (FSDL) have given back the aforementioned rights,” he told this daily. The AIFF will float a tender from September 15. To ensure a smooth tendering process, the AIFF will look for help from top consulting companies too. “We will be seeking inputs from one of the ‘Big Four’ of consulting companies in our tendering process,” Satyanarayan added. He hinted that the tender may be global. “Whoever wins the bid on October 15, will have to conduct the league by December,” he said.
