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The Fed Cup, which is organised by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI), has not been a popular tournament over the years - at least not among the general populace. However, the 2018 edition of the tournament saw a much-improved traction, both in terms of media coverage, and in terms of interest generated from the sports enthusiasts from all across the country.
Of course, in terms of numbers, one cannot expect the Federation Cup to touch the mind-boggling numbers generated by cricketing events in the country. Nevertheless, a number of athletes have come to the forefront on the basis of their performances in this tournament.
One aspect that has helped the AFI make a much-improved showing in the Federation Cup is their tie-up with Run Adam a company that tied-up with former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to launch an app that would help athletes connect to stakeholders.
Run Adam became the primary sponsors of the Fed Cup, something that allowed the AFI to garner more eyeballs across the country. With increased revenue being generated from the title sponsors, the AFI was now able to organise the tournament in a more presentable manner, which also allowed the federation to broadcast the event.
"When athletes compete they should feel it is a National level top class meet. A big part of sponsorship money is spent on look and feel of the competition," said AFI competition committee member Divesh Bahl.
"Plus, making it LIVE on social media and giving a chance to athletes to speak their mind and express themselves live was a big step forward for us. Basically, it gave them more exposure than they used to get before," he said.
Bahl explained that many of the athletes, whose friends and family were not at the venue, used to miss out on the performances in the earlier editions of the tournament. Now, however, all that has changed.
While internet penetration has helped a lot of people in the country get more connected, AFI, along with the sponsorship revenue, has been able to set up a live streaming system on their social media platforms, so that people from all across the country could tune in and watch.
Many of the athletes' parents were able to watch their sons or daughters take part in the event via the live streams set up by the AFI, something which was completely unforeseen in the previous editions of the tournament.
Quicker registration for the athletes
One of the biggest problems for national level meets in recent years has been the fact that the athletes would often have to go through a tedious application process, that involved long queues one the eve of the competition, something that may very well have hampered their performances.
Now, however, the athletes can avail a new system of registration, that takes away all the hassle. The AFI, with the help of Run Adam, introduced online registration.
"This reduced long lines a day before championships drastically. All the athletes registered online," said Bahl. "All they had to do ahead of the competition was to collect their chest numbers, free water bottles and juice. The whole process did not take more than a minute per athlete."
Previously, however, the situation was quite different, as the athletes had to endure the hassles of red tape.
"Earlier, the entire process was a torture.They had to wait in long queues and had to go through a tedious verification process of their documents. There were often a few missed entries, as the hard copies were missing," he explained.
At the end of the day, a competition like the Fed Cup, which serves as a qualifier for a prestigious multi-sport event like the Commonwealth Games, needs to be elevated the platform that it deserves.
With the professionalised outlook, the AFI was not only able to bring about a better organisation of the tournament, but also have numerous entries into the Fed Cup. As many as 757 athletes had registered ahead of the tournament.
This number does not show the full picture, however, as a number of athletes competed in multiple events, increasing the overall competitiveness.The AFI has already sent a large contingent of its athletes to Gold Coast, Australia for the Commonwealth Games. Can the professionalised outlook in the Fed Cup bring about better performances in Gold Coast? Only time can tell.
