Why does Team India currently have no sponsors?

I personally feel it is a disappointing scenario that the Indian national football team currently has no sponsor or partners, who support Team India and their international commitments of playing friendlies, qualifiers and tournaments. But why does Team India currently have no sponsorship deals?

There are numerous plausible reasons for this situation but still it is unacceptable that most national teams around the world have not only a lead sponsor but a sponsorship pool which supports a national team, with the concerned federations earning substantial revenue to not only sustain their national teams, but also have money to run their operations and other domestic programs.

In India, that is sadly not the case with corporates showing no real interest to come forward and sponsor the Indian national football team after the exit of Japanese electronic giants Panasonic following the end of their three-year contract.

On one side, the AIFF have to be blamed for this as there is no proper calendar of India’s international matches for the season ahead like they now at least have for the I-League and Federation Cup.

India played their last friendly in February against Palestine, and their last competitive matches were in March in the AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers.

Now, they play again on Wednesday, August 14 in Tajikistan, after a proposed tour to England with matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh in June called-off.

The next assignment will then be the SAFF Championship in Nepal next month, which means at least until September in the calendar year 2013, India will have played one match at home, two international friendlies overall, three qualifying matches and a minimum of three matches in the regional championships.

This list of international matches in 2013 sadly make Team India anything but an interesting proposition for sponsorships. But, AIFF’s marketing partners IMG-Reliance should come in and scout for at least one title sponsor for Team India.

I would suggest that the AIFF and IMG-Reliance should look to organise at least two marquee matches a year, high-profile games either against strong opposition which would guarantee covering of organisational costs and making some money for the federation or maybe playing in the Middle East or Europe, which would interest television and sponsors besides Indians living abroad to attend games.

Here, the AIFF needs to think out of the box, like they did ahead of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup when the federation under guidance of the then-national coach Bob Houghton spend time and money to prepare his team in the best possible matter for bigger competitions.

And then there is corporate India or multinational companies operating in India, who I feel have a duty to support national teams across sports and not just cricket.

But I know that is easier said than done with the matches Team India currently plays or rather, does not play.