By IANS,
New Delhi: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has signed a five-year sponsorship deal with the Pailan Group for the Indian Arrows team, which will now shift base to Kolkata.
The AIFF was struggling to maintain the Indian Arrows — formed last year to prepare the national football team for the 2018 World Cup — within its Rs.7 crore annual budget as it shells out Rs.11 lakh a month as rent for the self-contained resort where the players are lodged in Gurgaon. And each player gets paid between Rs.20 lakh-Rs.25 lakh a year.
Das said it was a pity that despite AIFF’s best efforts the team had to be moved out of the national capital.
“It is a pity that we couldn’t find a sponsor to keep the team in Delhi. We tried our best and even took the help of some of the best marketing agency, but still couldn’t find a sponsor,” said Das after signing the deal with Apurba Saha, founder of the Pailan Group educational conglomerate, at the Football House here.
The team is likely to be called Pailan Indian Arrows. The players’ salaries and cost of infrastructure will be taken care of by Pailan Group while AIFF would take care of the technical aspect, including coaches and support staffs.
Das said the Pailan Group has also offered the AIFF infrastructure to build the national academy on the outskirts of Kolkata.
AIFF has received several applications, including one from a Spaniard, for the post of technical director.