It was back in 2010 that the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced their 15-year partnership with IMG-Reliance, a move which was hailed by all stakeholders – fans, media, clubs, officials, etc. Back then, the AIFF was in doldrums given that the Indian FA struggled to conduct competitions due to lack of financial resources. The existing commercial partner, ZEE, was keen to get out of the deal and took a whopping 70 crores INR and sold the rights to IMG-Reliance.
In fact, the AIFF had a committee which scrutinized the deal which involved Larsing Ming – who is the owner of Shillong Lajong, Subrata Dutta – experienced administrator and Chariman of the League Committee and Hardev Jadeja – who served as the treasurer, before it was put pen to paper.