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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH, May 7: With less than 48 hours before the start of the Pepsi Independence Cup, there is another battle brewing up between title sponsors, Pepsi and their arch-rivals, Coca-Cola, who sponsor the Pakistani team. The logo issue, which surfaced a few days ago, still remains unsolved. Quite a few Pakistani players came for the nets today, in Mohali, donning T-shirts which had Coca-Cola logos. It is still not known whether they will agree to wear the Pepsi logos, or will not sport any logos for the tournament.
The Board is believed to have asked Pepsi to compensate the Pakistanis, who have a contract with Coke. There has, however, been no word from Pepsi on this account.
It is surprising such a controversy should have arisen on the eve of what is evidently a prestigious tournament, considering it is being held to mark the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence.
The ICC, often ambiguous on many issues, is surprisingly clear on advertising matters of such nature. Coincidentally, the BCCI presently has in its midst secretary, Jagmohan Dalmiya, who is the ICC-President designate, so it would have been expected that he would be well-versed with their rules.
According to Rule 3 C 1.2 of the ICC regulations on and manufacturers logos, 8220;The visiting team shall not display a commercial logo on any article of clothing or equipment which conflicts with the series but not team sponsor of the host country.8221;
Rule 3 C 1.3 goes on to add, 8220;The host country shall give notice of the identity of the series sponsor at least 60 days in advance of the start of a tour. In the event of potential conflict, the host country shall have the final say in determining whether the visiting team8217;s logo is acceptable or not. No compensation shall be payable should the visiting team be precluded from displaying its team sponsor on players8217; shirts and/or sweaters.8221;
It is strange that the BCCI did not tackle the issue long back. To their credit, the BCCI had planned to finalise the title sponsor by March 9 and had therefore asked for bids on February 6 with February 17 as the last date for submitting them. Pepsi and Tata are believed to have been the two major bidders, though BCCI did try to rope in some others. Pepsi, which has the first right of refusal agreed to a sum of Rs. 5.05 crores.
It should have been upto BCCI to solve the problem there and then with both Pepsi and the Pakistani Board.
However by letting matters hang fire, they can at best hope the Pakistanis agree to remove the Coke logos, as it would otherwise blatantly violate the rules laid down by the ICC.
Meanwhile, the Board could come up with another problem in Chennai, where India is due to meet Pakistan in one of the most keenly awaited matches of the tournament. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association has named one of its stand as Coca-Cola Stand and this would naturally irk Pepsi, the sponsors of the tournament. Pepsi presently is sitting tight, but are believed to be peeved at the Board8217;s treatment more so since they have been associated with them since 1993 and now have a contract for all first class cricket, Tests and one-dayers in India till 2000.
