Higher amount paid for hosting 2010 Hockey World Cup: Gill

MUMBAI: The fees charged by FIH from India for hosting the last year’s Hockey World Cup at New Delhi was Rs 5 crore more than the original deal signed by the world body with the erstwhile Indian Hockey Federation, former IHF chief KPS Gill said on Wednesday.

“When the IHF (of which Gill was the president) signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the International Hockey Federation (FIH) for hosting the 2010 World Cup in Delhi the capitation fees that was agreed on was Rs 2.5 crore. But Mr (Narinder) Batra (Hockey India’s secretary general) revealed at a meeting three months ago that the amount was Rs 7.5 crore,” Gill said at a media conference.

Gill, now an IHF advisor, said that Batra also revealed at the meeting (held on March 1 in Delhi) in the presence of sports ministry officials that neither Hockey India nor the Indian Olympic Association had conducted the World Cup.

“He said it was conducted by the organising committee of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup, registered with the Registrar of Societies in Delhi and headed by Suresh Kalmadi (former IOA chief),” he said in the presence of IHF president R K Shetty.

“I would file an FIR now to find out by which route Rs 7.5 crore went out of the country. I do not know whether it was through the RBI route or the hawala route,” added Gill.

The former top cop said he could not get any information about the World Cup under the RTI Act and, only when asked at the joint meeting of the IHF, HI and sports ministry in March, Batra revealed the amount paid to FIH.

Gill said when originally planned the World Cup was budgeted to cost Rs 4.5 crore, including what he said was capitation fees, which Shetty clarified as title sponsorship charges levied by the FIH for India getting the hosting rights for the tournament.

Gill, who charged that HI was a hoax perpetrated on the hockey lovers of the country, said the differences between the rival bodies – IHF and HI – can be sorted out in a day’s time.

“The IHF president is sitting by my side and I can say the IHF is willing to go more than half way to sort out the differences with HI. But Mr Batra is unwilling and he has a strong supporter in an important politician, Mr Arun Jaitley,” he charged.

Shetty said that just before holding the press briefing he got a call from the sports ministry for a meeting to sort out the problems between IHF and HI.

Shetty said now that the decks have been cleared following the Delhi high court’s verdict in favour of the proposed World Series Hockey (WSH) to be organised by IHF in conjunction with Nimbus Sport, things were falling in place and details about the tournament will be out by next month.

“We would be giving all the details about the dates, venues and players taking part in WSH in four to six weeks’ time. I don’t think FIH will prevent players from playing in it as it’s for the promotion of hockey,” he said.

Shetty said that IHF will not prevent players from taking part in any tournament even if it was held under the aegis of its rival body, Hockey India.

“I have been a player myself and don’t want the players to suffer for no fault of theirs,” he said.