FSDL unlikely to walk away from Indian football

Panaji: Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL), the marketing partners of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), took many by surprise when it agreed to waive its contractual Right of First Negotiation and Right to Match under the 15-year master rights agreement which ends in Dec this year.At a time when the Reliance subsidiary enjoyed the upper hand in its negotiations with the AIFF over a new agreement, the move surprised most stakeholders, particularly the Indian Super League clubs (ISL) clubs, all of whom were left wondering if they would be left to fend for themselves.Later in the day, FSDL had a 40-minute virtual call with clubs from the top-tier league.“We had a chance to speak to FSDL and got a better understanding of their thought process in stepping back from their rights in such a magnanimous way,” a club official who attended the meeting told TOI on Thursday.

“They have backed Indian football for a long time, and hopefully once the tendering process is done, they’ll be around to keep guiding the game like they always have.”According to sources, FSDL has “no intention of quitting Indian football" given that they have made such big investments over the last 15 years. “Without FSDL taking a step back and waiving off its rights, Indian football wouldn't have moved forward,” said a source who has been tracking talks between the two parties.

“FSDL has given up a massive commercial right for the betterment of Indian football. You can count this as one more contribution (to the sport).”During talks between AIFF and FSDL, the Right of First Negotiation and Right to Match was a major sticking point. AIFF said if the rights continued to be with the marketing partners, not many would be willing to step forward and take on the might of Reliance.“FSDL did what it could to ensure that the process is transparent and smooth.

Given the scale of its investments over the last 15 years, they are unlikely to step away. Everyone is now keen to see the tender document; if the base price and tenure is sensible, FSDL will be in contention,” said the official who asked not to be named.According to the submission before the Supreme Court on Thursday, FSDL has agreed to issue a No Objection Certificate to AIFF for the conduct of an open, competitive and transparent tender or equivalent process. The company has also paid the July–Sept quarterly rights fee of Rs 12.5 crore under the MRA on Aug 18 and agreed to advance the final tranche of the rights fee for the final quarter (Oct–De 2025), if required by the federation.