Gaming season

SPORTS: Hyderabad and Mumbai will host the fourth World Military Games - all that's required now is enough funds and sponsors.

The Indian military establishment is opening up to corporate sponsorships as it gets ready to host one of the country's biggest sports extravaganzas ""the fourth World Military Games (WMG).

The event, being held in Hyderabad and Mumbai from October 14 to 21, promises to herald a new relationship between the defence forces and the corporate world.

"We are seeking sponsorships and the response has been overwhelming. Even before we advertised, offers have started pouring in from companies like the Indian Oil Corporation, UTI Bank, Bharat Electricals, Hindustan Aeronauticals Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited and several others,'' says a senior official.

Started in 1995, the WMG is a multi-sports event that is held every four years, and this time, 127 countries represented by 5,000 athletes and 3,000 military officials would be participating. The earlier WMG were held in Rome, Zegreb and Catania (Italy).

According to the organisers, WMG is "twice as big an event as the Commonwealth Games and three times larger than the Afro-Asian Games''.

That might be overstating the case, considering the games will be held at the in-house venues of the Army, Air Force and Navy and at stadia in and around Hyderabad.

According to the organisers, there is a need to raise big money as the Rs 100 crore games have just been sanctioned Rs 40 crore by the government.

While the defence public sector units are expected to raise some money, a bulk of the funds will come from corporate sponsors. These sponsorships could be in kind, promotional or even cash deals.

The organising body "" International Military Sports Council (IMSC) "" headed by Brigadier G G Gola, which met in Hyderabad last month, has already approved of the sponsorship plans.

"The sponsorship would be governed under the Directorate of Audio-Video Publicity code of advertising and no tobacco or liquor companies would be permitted to sponsor the games,'' say the organisers.

"It's not only about raising money,'' says a senior official, "We are using this opportunity to build bridges and work out partnerships between the Indian defence establishment and the corporate world.''

According to the organisers, 66 countries (including China and the US) have confirmed their participation while Pakistan's approval is awaited. For publicity, the organisers are likely to launch a media campaign to advertise the event.

An MoU is likely to be signed between the IMSC and the Prasar Bharti Corporation next week on the distribution of rights for an eight-hour live telecast of the games by Doordarshan.

"Under the MoU, the Prasar Bharti and the IWSC would share the proceeds from sponsorships,'' sources said. Doordarshan plans to set up an international broadcasting centre at Hyderabad from where it will further sell the footage of the games to other channels for a fee.