Sahara goes global with hockey

FIH president Els Vriesman is expected to be in India later this week to meet Sahara chief Subroto Roy and tie up the deal.

Though Sahara refused to divulge the exact amount of the sponorship deal with the FIH, a company spokesperson told this paper that money was not the issue.

8216;8216;Our company has big plans for hockey and we want to bring it at par with cricket. We will sponsor major tournaments and start a hockey rating system to build a craze among the public for the game.8217;8217;

Sahara8217;s Abhijit Sarkar said the FIH had taken the first step to contact the company and they have been initially offered to be the main sponors of the next two Champions Trophy in 2005 and 2006, besides other major events in women8217;s hockey. 8216;8216;We can8217;t reveal the money involved but Vriesman was very impressed with our approach to make the game as glamorous as cricket in India8217;8217;, Sarkar said.

Significantly, FIH8217;s other global partners are from Europe 8212; BDO International and Rabobank 8212; and Samsung of South Korea. Sahara will be the first from the traditional powerhouses and their reputation of playing for high stakes and pumping in money to a cause they believe could augur a boom time ahead for Indian hockey.

Last year, Sahara signed a eight-year deal to sponsor the Indian team and they could play an important role in shaping the Indian Hockey Federation8217;s dream project, the National Hockey League, which was announced last week.