FIH caught in payment problem

IHC, claiming they had signed the original MoU for the World Cup to be held as a joint venture with FIH on November 6, 2007 before the mega event was organised in New Delhi by the Hero Honda World Cup Society, said that releasing the amount would also amount to violation of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Act 1973.

In his letter to RBI Governor D Subbarao sent on Tuesday IHC’s lawyer Vijendra S Jabra has claimed that IHC’s MoU with the FIH signed in November 2007 had also been duly executed and “is valid and subsisting till today and the same has not been terminated.”

IHC, formed after merger of the men’s Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) — which has since been de-recognised by the FIH — with the national women’s hockey governing body, has also claimed that already Rs 7.5 crore had been paid to the FIH by the World Cup organising panel’s secretary Narinder Batra, which was also a violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.

IHC has claimed that as per the MoU it had signed with FIH, only the title sponsorship amount belonged to the world body and the rest of the revenue, including those from sale of TV rights, belonged to the joint venture organising committee that was to have been formed.

“My client further states that the Hero Honda World cup society till date haven’t audited their Accounts. My Client owns lot of money towards damages from FIH,” Jabra has written.
Meanwhile, other sources said a copy of the letter had been handed over to FIH chief Leandro Negre before he departed from India after his meeting with Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Monday.