Venkys,Sahara eye new I-League slots

English club Blackburn Rovers Pune-based owners,Venkys,and business conglomerate Sahara have shown interest in investing in I-League teams

English club Blackburn Rovers Pune-based owners,Venkys,and business conglomerate Sahara have shown interest in investing in I-League teams.

The All-India Football Federation has guaranteed direct entry to the I-League,the top-tier of club football in the country,to those ready to establish corporate teams in return for the commitment to building a new stadium or undertake complete refurbishment of an existing stadium. Venkys and Sahara are among the 20-plus parties in touch with the All India Football Federation AIFF.

Representatives of those interested in investing in corporate teams will meet AIFF president Praful Patel in New Delhi on Tuesday.

The AIFF plans to add at least two new teams to I-League and is hoping to tap corporates,including those in the Middle East. A federation official said Tuesdays meeting will be more of an open session before the formal bidding process begins.

Officials from Venkys and Sahara have confirmed their interest. We expect at least 30 corporates to attend Tuesdays meeting. They will be briefed about what is expected of them and what they will get in return, an AIFF official said. Other names include,steel giants Jindal and Hero Motocorp,the official added.

Saharas corporate communications head Abhijit Sarkar confirmed the development. I will meet AIFF officials in New Delhi tomorrow to discuss how we can set up an I-League team, Sarkar said.

Sahara owns a team in the Indian Premier League Pune Warriors and sponsor cricket,hockey,boxing and wrestling in the country,apart from other Olympic sports.

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Venkys became the first Indian owners of an English Premier League club when they acquired majority stakes of Blackburn Rovers in 2011. Venkys recently became nutrition partners of I-League club Air India.

No concessions

The AIFF official said no special concessions will be made to either Sahara or Venkys. We know what we want and that is a long-term development plan. If Sahara can promise us a stadium in Lucknow or Venkys in Pune,then there will be an oppportunity for them to own a corporate team. They can also offer to refurbish any of the existing facilities, the official added.

After Tuesdays meeting in New Delhi,Patel will travel to Dubai to meet the potential investors.