The AIFF general body defers a decision on the commercial rights deal, shifting the onus back to the ExCo

The AIFF held a special general body meeting on May 23 in Kolkata. (AIFF) New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) general body handed over the responsibility of finalizing the commercial rights deal back to the executive committee at the SGM held on May 23 in Kolkata.During the SGM, the General Body gave “the power to discuss and consider” the two candidates to the Executive Council. Given the legal and constitutional requirements, this was the maximum possible today.The AIFF received two offers for the commercial rights, from FanCode and Genius Sports. Of the two, AIFF is vehemently in favor of UK-based Genius Sports, which is offering Rs 64.4 crore per annum, growing at 5% per annum, for a total of Rs 2129 crore over the 15+5 year cycle.“The Federation continued to discuss the Master Rights Agreement (MRA) for which it received bids from two entities. To this extent, the General Body unanimously approved that the Executive Committee be empowered to discuss and hold negotiations on the MRA,” the AIFF said in a statement after the SGM, which was attended by 19 members of the Executive Committee, 32 representatives from Member State Associations and AFC FIFA representatives. Interestingly, former AIFF President Praful, who is now a member of the FIFA Council, also attended the SGM.On Friday, representatives of the ISL clubs met senior AIFF officials to discuss the commercial rights deal. Clubs have expressed concerns about a model where their financial interests are unclear. As a result, most clubs said in a statement that they “are now forced to review the extent of our commitment to the league beyond the current season”.Later in an email, they petitioned the AIFF general body against taking a decision on the long-term commercial rights model. The clubs demanded that “no binding decision be taken at the special general meeting scheduled for tomorrow (May 23). The clubs remain willing and ready to continue to work constructively with the AIFF and Genius Sports to reach a common and financially sustainable framework that will protect the interests of all stakeholders and most importantly secure the future of Indian football.”