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New Delhi – The All India Football Federation’s (AIFF) commercial partner IMG-Reliance finally managed to rope in a telecast partner in Ten Sports for the I-league and the Federation Cup.
IMG-Reliance Wednesday said Ten Sports will telecast the I-League through its football channel Ten Action for the next three seasons starting 2012.
Ten Action will telecast 75 live and delayed matches throughout the season. The channel also has the rights for the Federation Cup for the next two seasons starting 2013.
AIFF can now heave a sigh of relief after it failed to get a broadcaster for the recently concluded Federation Cup. Only the semi-finals and the final matches were telecast live by national broadcaster Doordarshan.
“The fiercely contested Federation Cup, concluded recently, has set the ball rolling for the 2012-13 football calendar year. The I-League competition brings in even more enthusiasm and excitement, as the clubs are eager to renew their rivalry and fight it out from round one,” said AIFF secretary general Kushal Das.
A spokesperson of IMG-Reliance said having a long term broadcaster was its first priority.
“We are happy to bring Ten Sports on board as a broadcast partner in football. Having a long-term partnership with the broadcaster is an important step in ensuring quality and continuous coverage of the two competitions. This is one of many initiatives IMG-Reliance has undertaken and we remain committed to the development of Indian football,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Atul Pande, CEO Ten Sports said: “We are delighted to partner with IMG-Reliance to telecast I-League and Federation Cup, two of India’s premier football tournaments. Ten Sports has always supported Indian football and we continue committed to our vision of enhancing and adding value to the sport.”
