CHENNAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to donate Rs 10 crore to the Sports Ministry to support the Indian contingent that will take part in the upcoming Toky Olympics, scheduled to start on July 23.
Interestingly, the majority of the funds will be used for promotional activities of the Olympic-bound athletes. The BCCI will directly pay the agency handling the promotional campaign. On receiving the request from the ministry, the BCCI made the decision at an emergent Apex Council meet on Sunday.
During the meeting, the BCCI also decided to form a commmittee to decide on the compensation package for domestic cricketers. The Sports Ministry’s request to BCCI to fund promotional activity is curious. Does it mean the ministry lack funds? For its part, the ministry said its funding essentially goes towards sports development activities and not event promotion.
But apparently, the ministry is keen on creating buzz ahead of the Olympics, where it expects a record haul of medals, hence the outreach. “BCCI is helping the ministry on that front too. The campaign is handled by a private agency and the BCCI will pay them directly,” said the ministry. The BCCI will also place expressions of interest to the ICC to host the 2028 T20 World Cup, 2031 WC and 2025 Champions Trophy.