Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: Dream11-owned FanCode and Genius Sports have emerged as the two bidders for commercial rights of the Indian Super League (ISL) and Federation Cup on a 15+5 year model that was floated earlier this month. Capri Sports, subsidiary of Capri Global, is the only party interested in rights for the Indian Women’s League (IWL) and IWL 2.After a long day where the tender document was presented to the 14 ISL clubs for the first time and the three bids were evaluated on the basis of their technical and financial aspects, it was back to the drawing board for all involved. Genius Sports, the official data feed provider for the English Premier League, the Championship, and the Scottish league, made a bid of Rs 2129 crore over 20 years. Beyond being a data provider, Genius Sports’ technology is also used for real-time betting odds. This could prove a hurdle at a later stage as betting is illegal in India.FanCode, meanwhile, went with a more pragmatic approach of Rs 36 crore each year with 5 percent increments, amounting to approximately Rs 1190 crore, nearly half of what Genius Sports bid. The AIFF and the ISL clubs will now reconvene over the next couple of days to mull over the specifics of the tender document and the bids. One club that Timesofindia.com spoke to said the decision would take a few days.Capri Sports are the only contenders for the IWL and IWL 2 having made a bid of Rs 150 crore over 20 years. GMR Sports, which had attended the pre-bid meeting, didn’t make a bid in the end. It is understood that the entity behind multiple sporting ventures, including IPL’s Delhi Capitals, had asked for more time but that was not agreed to by the AIFF. The Indian football federation had already pushed the bid due date from March 20 to March 26. As far as the tender is concerned, it would go beyong the media rights. It would entail sponsorship, advertising, digital and data initiatives, merchandising, and event-linked commercial opportunities — creating a long-term deal that consolidates the full commercial ecosystem of Indian club football.During the initial stages, AIFF had introduced a strict eligibility requirement: companies had to purchase the Request for Proposal (RFP) for Rs 2.5 lakh, and only those entities were allowed to submit bids.
