IOA chief Usha responds to RIL deal

Indian Olympic Association chief claims no loss from NOC house deal, addressing concerns over naming rights and sponsorship visibility.
IOA President P T Usha
IOA President P T Usha
Updated on
3 min read

CHENNAI: Indian Olympic Association chief PT Usha claimed that there was no loss to the organization because of renegotiating a deal that the IOA had entered with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for a National Olympic Committee (NOC) house at the Games. This was alleged by IOA's EC.

According to a statement, Usha said that the issue stemmed from a flaw in the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued in July 2022 by the previous IOA management. The naming rights for establishing an NOC House were awarded to RIL as the highest bidder but because there was a caveat stating that the naming rights were "subject to the guidelines of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Host Territory, issued from time to time" missing the whole issue arose.

After the IOA and the RIL entered into an agreement, the IOC in June, 2023, issued guidelines in which it disallowed “sponsors from acquiring naming rights for NOC Houses at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games”. According to Usha, despite the best efforts of the IOA to secure exemptions, the IOC maintained its stance.

This led RIL to renegotiate the 2022 agreement and proposed a 50% reduction in the previously agreed hosting fee due to the loss of naming rights. The fee was Rs 35 crore. According to the IOA, under the circumstances, the IOA had limited options: “Terminate the agreement entirely, resulting in no NOC House at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and a loss of Rs 21 crore (the balance of the rights fee receivable for the 2024 Olympic Games, 2026 Commonwealth Games, 2026 Asian Games and 2028 Olympic Games). Or accept the reduced rights fee of Rs 17.5 crores for the remaining agreement period. Or renegotiate the terms to protect the IOA’s cash flow without compromising the original hosting fee of Rs 35 crores for six events. The IOA decided to protect the revenue.

The IOA’s contention was that “as part of this, additional events granted to RIL in the renegotiated agreement—namely the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics and the 2026 and 2030 Youth Olympic Games—provide minimal visibility to sponsors compared to high-visibility events like the Summer Olympics, Commonwealth Games, or Asian Games.” Because of this, the IOA feels, the CAG's report incorrectly equates the visibility of these events with the level of exposure available at the Summer Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games which is inaccurate.

Usha refuted allegations levelled by IOA treasurer Sahdev Yadav that she acted without the knowledge of the IOA EC. She claimed this frivolous and a deliberate ploy to tarnish her image. “Any further attempts to mislead the public or undermine the IOA’s efforts will be met with appropriate legal action,” she said. Usha also said that the renegotiation proposal was circulated to all EC members on September 9, 2023, and later forwarded by the Acting CEO in a letter dated 5 October 2023. One of the EC members, Rohit Rajpal, representing the Sponsorship Committee, was present at the meetings where the renegotiation was discussed.

Usha also said a reply has been sent to the CAG. According to the CAG reply, “The rights fee payable by RIL for CWG 2022 and CWG 2026 is `6 crore each, for AG 2022 and AG 2026 is Rs 3 crore each and for OG 2024 and OG 2028 is `8 crore each. A sum of Rs 1 crore is to be paid in 2027, thereby making a total rights fee receivable by the IOA as Rs 35 crore.”

The IOA had also said that the calculation by the CAG audit team assuming each of the six events where the rights were granted by the IOA to RIL in July 2022, would bring in a uniform sum of `6 crore per event to the IOA seems misleading. The IOA entered into an agreement with the RIL on December 23.

The CAG during its report in September 2024, issued a half margin and observed a loss of Rs 24 crore to IOA by giving away four additional events — the Winter Olympic Games 2026 and 2030 and the Summer Youth Olympic Games 2026 and 2030 in the revised agreement between IOA and RIL.

However, the IOA has replied saying “as can be seen above, the sponsorship fee payable for different types of events i.e. Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Youth Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games are not similar but are dependent on perceived visibility a sponsor may obtain by associating with the IOA.”

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