 "Football clubs set to take a hit on Mallya's funding dribble")
According to Mohun Bagan AC officials, Mallya has committed about Rs 8-9 crore this year, which is close to half of what the club was allocated last year. UB Group is the lead sponsor of the club through its brand McDowell No1. The story is quite the same with Kingfisher East Bengal, too. The club would face a 50 per cent cut in Mallya’s commitments, confirmed an official.
Mallya’s interest in sporting ventures has been quite wide. While Kingfisher is the ‘Good Times Partner’ with six IPL teams, United Spirits owns the Royal Challengers team. The brands, Royal Challenge, McDowell’s No. 1 and White Mischief ride on the team.
Kingfisher also sponsors Sahara Force India, the Formula One team in which the Sahara group and Mallya own 42.5 per cent each.
Among Mallya’s other major sporting interests are the Summer Derby in Bangalore (sponsored by United Breweries) and the United Spirits-backed McDowell’s Signature Premium Derby in Mumbai.
It is not clear whether Mallya would reduce his exposure in any of these ventures. So far, the Mohun Bagan and East Bengal clubs appear to be bearing the brunt of Mallya’s stressed finances that started last year when Kingfisher’s huge dues to banks, staff and airport authorities, came to light. The licence of the airline was suspended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) last year. It has grounded since.
“McDowell’s is the only sponsor that we are left with; we got Rs 15 crore last year. What they are committing to us at the moment is not sufficient and a deficit of around Rs 6 crore is still there,” said, Mohun Bagan AC General-Secretary Anjan Mitra.
The situation has left the club in dire straits — so much so that the country’s oldest football club is going to seek help from its supporters. “This is our only option. After the executive committee board meeting yesterday, we have decided to ask club fans/supporters to extend financial help. Details will be put up on our website in a day or two,” added Mitra.
The UB group did not respond to an email sent by Business Standard.
Debabarata Sarkar of East Bengal said this was inevitable. “Not many companies are doing well. In such a challenging economic environment, all football clubs would see some sort of reduction in budget. In fact, all clubs have discussed this informally among themselves; almost all of them are seeing hefty sponsorship cut for the next season.”
The football clubs’ woes have only got compounded by the fact that their other major sponsors were deposit-taking companies. Saradha, recently indicted for defrauded thousands of small investors in Bengal and neighbouring states, was one of the lead sponsors for Mohun Bagan AC, while Rose Valley, also under lens of the Serious Fraud Investigation Office and Sebi, is a lead sponsor for East Bengal.
MALLYA’S SPORTING TIMES
IPL Cricket
- Royal Challengers Bangalore: USL owns the team
- Brands involved: The Royal Challenge, McDowell’s No.1 and White Mischief
- Brand ambassadors: M S Dhoni and Chris Gayle endorse McDowell’s No.1
- Kingfisher: The ‘Good Times Partner’ of six teams
- Kingfisher: Sponsor for the team
- Holding: Sahara Group and Mallya own 42.5% each in Sahara Force India; the rest is held by Michael Moi, who initially partnered Mallya to buy the team
- Brands involved: Vladivar, Royal Challenge, Kingfisher, Whyte & Mackay
- Kingfisher: The water partner for Mumbai Marathon, Delhi Half Marathon and Bangalore World 10K
- UB: Backs United East Bengal Football Club and is the official sponsor of Kingfisher East Bengal FC
- USL’s McDowell’s No.1: Backs Mohun Bugan football team
- UB: Sponsor for the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore
- USL: Backs McDowell’s Signature Premium Derby (Mumbai)
- Mallya: Owner of United Racing and Bloodstock Breeders