<p>AIFF, whose deal with Zee is to run till 2014, felt that it did not get the desired publicity or coverage for its showpiece I-League. <br /><br />Delayed payments from Zee Sports did not help matters and after Praful Patel took over as the AIFF president the federation decided to review the deal.<br /><br />Even though the deal is till 2014, there is a clause to review it after five years and taking advantage of it the AIFF has decided to terminate the contract. <br /><br />A top AIFF official told IANS that Patel and secretary-general Alberto Coalco held several rounds of meetings with Zee Sports officials to amicably end their association. <br /><br />"We have realised the reach of Zee Sports was not good enough to promote the sport, the I-League in particular. Now that we have promised our new sponsors Panasonic India's eight international games a year, besides I-League, we do not want to take chances with the television coverage," the official said.<br /><br />The official said that RIL-IMG will step in as the new marketing and telecast partner.<br />"RIL-IMG will be our new marketing and telecast partner. They will now sell our telecast rights and hopefully we will get a good revenue," he said.<br /><br />RIL and IMG Worldwide, the world's leading sports marketing and management company, earlier this year formed a joint venture, IMG Reliance Pvt Ltd to develop, market and manage sports and entertainment in India. <br /><br />As a first step, IMG Reliance Pvt Ltd has already decided to sponsor the under-15 team for four years.<br /><br />"The team will train at IMG's base in Florida for four years and it is surely be a big step towards youth development. Since forging the joint venture earlier this year they had shown their interest in football and we will have more tie-ups in future," the official said.<br />The AIFF has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Modi Entertainment, owned by B.K. Modi, to host an international tournament next year. <br /><br />The AIFF has held two meetings with officials of the Modi Entertainment and the plan is to host an eight-team tournament next year. <br /></p>
<p>AIFF, whose deal with Zee is to run till 2014, felt that it did not get the desired publicity or coverage for its showpiece I-League. <br /><br />Delayed payments from Zee Sports did not help matters and after Praful Patel took over as the AIFF president the federation decided to review the deal.<br /><br />Even though the deal is till 2014, there is a clause to review it after five years and taking advantage of it the AIFF has decided to terminate the contract. <br /><br />A top AIFF official told IANS that Patel and secretary-general Alberto Coalco held several rounds of meetings with Zee Sports officials to amicably end their association. <br /><br />"We have realised the reach of Zee Sports was not good enough to promote the sport, the I-League in particular. Now that we have promised our new sponsors Panasonic India's eight international games a year, besides I-League, we do not want to take chances with the television coverage," the official said.<br /><br />The official said that RIL-IMG will step in as the new marketing and telecast partner.<br />"RIL-IMG will be our new marketing and telecast partner. They will now sell our telecast rights and hopefully we will get a good revenue," he said.<br /><br />RIL and IMG Worldwide, the world's leading sports marketing and management company, earlier this year formed a joint venture, IMG Reliance Pvt Ltd to develop, market and manage sports and entertainment in India. <br /><br />As a first step, IMG Reliance Pvt Ltd has already decided to sponsor the under-15 team for four years.<br /><br />"The team will train at IMG's base in Florida for four years and it is surely be a big step towards youth development. Since forging the joint venture earlier this year they had shown their interest in football and we will have more tie-ups in future," the official said.<br />The AIFF has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Modi Entertainment, owned by B.K. Modi, to host an international tournament next year. <br /><br />The AIFF has held two meetings with officials of the Modi Entertainment and the plan is to host an eight-team tournament next year. <br /></p>