NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Imagine the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney turning out to play for their club with the name of an Indian company prominently emblazoned on their shirts.
This is no idle fantasy. Manchester United, the world's biggest football club, has reportedly approached the Sahara group for a sponsorship deal.
Sources said the club has been seeking sponsors and has sent a proposal to Sahara - which supports the Indian cricket team - for sponsoring the team's shirt.
Abhijit Sarkar, the head of Sahara's corporate communication, confirmed receiving the proposal but declined to comment further.
When TOI contacted Man U, a club official said, "We have been in touch with a lot of sponsors and hope to strike something in the near future."
Currently, American International Group (AIG) has a contract for sponsoring Man U shirts for £56.5 million (about Rs 415 crore). The four-year deal began in 2006.
But with AIG being hit hard by the financial meltdown, the deal appears to have run into trouble. That could explain Manchester United's search for new avenues of sponsorship.
Sahara keen on Man U proposal
World's premier football club Manchester United has sent a proposal to Sahara group for sponsoring the team's shirt.
According to sources, Man U's commercial director Richard Arnold has sent a proposal letter to the Lucknow-based group along with a host of related material like the club T-shirt with Sahara logo and a detailed dossier displaying pictures of Ronaldo and Rooney wearing T-shirts with the company name.
Sahara currently pays BCCI more than Rs 400 crore for shirt sponsorship of Team India for January 2006 to December 2009. The original amount was Rs 313 crore for three years, but the payout increased after the Indian board decided to play more One-day and Twenty20 matches.
This is the first time that any English football club - leave alone Man U, which has around 333 million fans worldwide - has looked to an Indian firm for sponsorship. Evidently, Sahara India's association with Indian cricket and hockey teams for more than a decade attracted the attention of Man U's bosses.
Sources in Sahara said they were keen on opening a dialogue with Man U but officials were tightlipped on proposal details.
"We have a healthy partnership with BCCI and the Indian Hockey Federation. Our foray into sports sponsorship has been very fruitful. But I can neither confirm nor deny the latest Man U move at the moment," said a top Sahara official.
Sources said Sahara wants the English club to first come to India and play a few matches. If Sahara does put its name on the Man-U shirt it will join the likes of AIG, Vodafone and Sharp who have done so earlier.
Sponsor Team Deal amount
Sahara Indian cricket team Over Rs 400cr
Tamoil Juventus 15m pounds a year
BenQ Real Madrid 14m pounds a year (2006)
T-Mobile Bayern Munich 11.4m pounds a year
Samsung Chelsea 10m pounds a year
Emirates Arsenal 100m pounds
AIG Man United 14m pounds a year
Carlsberg Liverpool 8m pounds a year
Arsenal amount also includes a 15-year stadium naming rights and eight-year team’s shirt deal
Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/eplarticleshow/4004105.cms
This is no idle fantasy. Manchester United, the world's biggest football club, has reportedly approached the Sahara group for a sponsorship deal.
Sources said the club has been seeking sponsors and has sent a proposal to Sahara - which supports the Indian cricket team - for sponsoring the team's shirt.
Abhijit Sarkar, the head of Sahara's corporate communication, confirmed receiving the proposal but declined to comment further.
When TOI contacted Man U, a club official said, "We have been in touch with a lot of sponsors and hope to strike something in the near future."
Currently, American International Group (AIG) has a contract for sponsoring Man U shirts for £56.5 million (about Rs 415 crore). The four-year deal began in 2006.
But with AIG being hit hard by the financial meltdown, the deal appears to have run into trouble. That could explain Manchester United's search for new avenues of sponsorship.
Sahara keen on Man U proposal
World's premier football club Manchester United has sent a proposal to Sahara group for sponsoring the team's shirt.
According to sources, Man U's commercial director Richard Arnold has sent a proposal letter to the Lucknow-based group along with a host of related material like the club T-shirt with Sahara logo and a detailed dossier displaying pictures of Ronaldo and Rooney wearing T-shirts with the company name.
Sahara currently pays BCCI more than Rs 400 crore for shirt sponsorship of Team India for January 2006 to December 2009. The original amount was Rs 313 crore for three years, but the payout increased after the Indian board decided to play more One-day and Twenty20 matches.
This is the first time that any English football club - leave alone Man U, which has around 333 million fans worldwide - has looked to an Indian firm for sponsorship. Evidently, Sahara India's association with Indian cricket and hockey teams for more than a decade attracted the attention of Man U's bosses.
Sources in Sahara said they were keen on opening a dialogue with Man U but officials were tightlipped on proposal details.
"We have a healthy partnership with BCCI and the Indian Hockey Federation. Our foray into sports sponsorship has been very fruitful. But I can neither confirm nor deny the latest Man U move at the moment," said a top Sahara official.
Sources said Sahara wants the English club to first come to India and play a few matches. If Sahara does put its name on the Man-U shirt it will join the likes of AIG, Vodafone and Sharp who have done so earlier.
Sponsor Team Deal amount
Sahara Indian cricket team Over Rs 400cr
Tamoil Juventus 15m pounds a year
BenQ Real Madrid 14m pounds a year (2006)
T-Mobile Bayern Munich 11.4m pounds a year
Samsung Chelsea 10m pounds a year
Emirates Arsenal 100m pounds
AIG Man United 14m pounds a year
Carlsberg Liverpool 8m pounds a year
Arsenal amount also includes a 15-year stadium naming rights and eight-year team’s shirt deal
Source: http://sports.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/eplarticleshow/4004105.cms
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