In a boost to Indian athletes,the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has decided to bring in a transparent model to raise money from the cash-rich marathons and road races being held across the country to put the money back into the sport. More than 100 road races and marathons are taking place all over the country,and most of them are simply tamasha. We want to bring some sanity into the madness and raise money, says Adil Sumariwala,former athlete and the working president of the AFI. The irony is,everybody involved with these events is earning,but nothing is coming into the sport, says Sumariwala. We want to grade our athletes and pay the top 100,just like it is in cricket. All their needs will be taken care of round the year. The money will also be used in building infrastructure, says Sumariwala. He adds that AFI must ensure its a win-win situation for everybody involved. Take the case of the Mumbai marathon. The traffic police stops vehicular traffic for six to seven hours,the municipal corporation provides all the facilities,the reserve bank allows appearance money to be paid to foreign athletes. They say they have raised so many crores in charity but what is the point if the sport doesnt benefit, says Sumariwala. We will de-recognise events which are not up to the mark and make sure our athletes and qualified officials dont attend them, says the former sprint star. We have about 300 district associations directly affiliated to us and well see that at least 250 of them are able to holds grassroot-level events, says Sumariwala. The AFI has formed a five-member committee to study and suggest a model. The committee,formed yesterday,will submit the report in 30 days. We will then take the proposal to the general body and take a final call before putting it into practice, he says.
