India’s two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj Chopra. (Photo credit: X) NEW DELHI: Dr Adille Sumariwalla, ex-officio member of the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), has defended the move to require athletes to get approval from the governing body before signing an endorsement deal.In a circular issued on April 2, the AFI notified its state units, head coach Radhakrishnan Nair, athlete management agencies and potential sponsors that athletes will now require the mandatory prior approval of the AFI “before entering into any agreement or contractual arrangement with any sponsor or third party”.
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Why Ahmedabad is probably the sports capital of India? | Bombay Sports Stock ExchangeThe circular followed 6-8 months of consultation with athletes, coaches and stakeholders, building consensus before its implementation.“We need to protect our athletes because most of our athletes are not really educated. (They can’t) go through a 30-page contract and not know what (they’re) signing. They’re told, ‘We’re going to give you this much money, sign it here.’ Then they don’t get the money,” Sumariwalla told TimesofIndia.com.“There are certain clauses that don’t benefit athletes. If an athlete gets injured, they don’t get paid during that period. There are so many of those clauses. So we look at them and say to athletes, please don’t sign these contracts.”“It’s our duty to protect our athletes. I don’t see anything wrong,” he continued. The former AFI president chose not to use names where an athlete had been defrauded by a “sub-agent” or sponsor. He insisted that if the contract was in order, it would be approved within 2-3 days. If not, they will initiate mediation with the athlete and sponsor, with the AFI bearing the costs of this legal process.He clarified that the athlete can sign the contract, even if the AFI does not recommend it, but in order to ensure transparency, he will publish the erroneous clauses.
We saw that some contracts did not have exit clauses. The athlete is therefore bound literally for life and will never switch to another sponsor. There are others who jump from one sponsor to another every three months
Dr. Adille Sumariwalla
Additionally, if an athlete chooses to sign a contract without notifying the AFI, they will be subject to disciplinary action.“We will send them to a disciplinary committee. Why wouldn’t they follow the rule that has been set? If there is a rule and that rule is broken, there will be a consequence,” Sumariwalla explained, referring to World Athletics’ mandatory SRY testing of athletes as a benchmark.“The Federation is unable to manage personal contracts”
Adille Sumariwalla (Getty Images)
The move has been welcomed by some and questioned by others, including the agencies that bring sponsors to these athletes, but one of the challenges will be making sure it holds up in court.“A sportsperson’s career is short-lived – it starts in the teens (Roger Federer signed with Nike at 13) and usually ends in the late 30s. Well-managed image rights can allow an athlete to earn money well beyond that period. Therefore, certain basic principles have been built into the sport, such as the 3+ rule to split between sponsorship (personal) contracts with an Indian sponsor (Puratma) and sponsorship contracts with the Indian cricket team sponsored by the company Nike), which is how sports federations have typically operated and made money all this time,” explained sports lawyer Aahna Mehrotra.
The fact that this is believed to be in the athlete’s best interest is debatable as dealings between brands and athletes are quite confidential.
Sports lawyer Aahna Mehrotra
“A sports federation is not in a position to govern personal contracts. Sure, there may be reasonable restrictions built into the federation’s participation/terms agreement, such as not fulfilling personal commitments during an event or championship or when called to national duty, or that they may not endorse products that are against the laws of the country, but that’s pretty much it.”“The fact that it’s supposed to be in the best interest of the athlete is debatable because dealings between brands and athletes are quite confidential. We’ve seen the issue between Mohammed Salah (the soccer player) and the Egyptian FA before, where Egypt Air (the airline) was accused of breaching privacy rules, so it could lead to much bigger problems, even though they may still intend to do good,” she said.Sumariwalla conceded that an athlete can take the legal route against the AFI if they believe their interests are being harmed by the process.
