SUPER DIVISION LEAGUE
KSHA Hunts For Super Division Sponsors
Bangalore: The Karnataka State Hockey Association (KSHA) is all set to undertake the onerous task of mustering funds for the conduct of its prestigious Super Division hockey league in September.
The premier event is moving out of Bangalore to Madikeri for the first time where a synthetic turf was laid few months back.
Despite the hockey fraternity here being upbeat over the change in the venue to the
hockey cradle of the state, the organising body, KSHA, has a herculean task of finding a sponsor for the event or to raise funds from any other suitable channel.
Last year, Olympian M P Ganesh had sponsored the league but his hopes of continuing with it seems to have hit a roadblock with the KSHA not agreeing to some of his terms and conditions.
An executive council meeting of the KSHA last week decided to conduct the tournament on its own with the assistance of Coorg Hockey Association rather than handing it over to any management firm or group.
“This year too Ganesh was prepared to sponsor the event but he wanted the rights to conduct the tournament through his sports management firm. Many council members protested saying that if that was allowed, the KSHA’s role would be diluted and finally we decided to continue with our responsibilities,” said KSHA secretary K Krishnamurthy.
The secretary drew comparisons with cricket’s Indian Premier League to make his point. “The IPL was a show run wholly by the BCCI and they remained the prominent body. In any sport, it is best the governing body takes the lead role,” he added.
Ganesh, on the other hand, said he wanted the management part of the tournament because only that could ensure the sponsors the desired mileage. Incidentally, the estimated expenditure of the event too has shot up by around 50 per cent due to the relocation.
“Last year, the expenses stood around Rs 10-12 lakh. Now the projected figure is around Rs 17-18 lakh,” said Krishnamurthy.
“Now, each office-bearer has the responsibility of raising the money. The gate money that we have planned too will help. Besides, we have decided to give title sponsorship to any firm which commits Rs 10 lakh for the event,” Krishnamurthy said.
Most of the teams which participated last year have confirmed their entries in the upcoming edition. The tournament committee is slated to meet in the near future to finalize the schedule.