HUMBLED HOCKEY - Money music will make FIH sing again
While the International Hockey Federation has been making a lot of noise about propriety and making all the threatening noises, a display of dollars that the FIH needs desperately could well make it change its tune about the Champions Trophy.
M.S. Unnikrishnan
International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre must really be missing the incarcerated Suresh Kalmadi in this time of crises for Indian hockey. When Kalmadi was around, particularly during the turbulent days leading to the formation of Hockey India and the run up to the hosting of the World Cup in Delhi in March 2010, he played his cards well and pulled the right strings to get things moving and cracking at a fast pace.
The thumping success of the World Cup held at the renovated, world-class Dhyan Chand Stadium impressed the FIH top brass. They also realised the enormous potential of generating much-needed funds by selling hockey in India. Kalmadi and his team got many sponsors for the World Cup and filled the FIH coffers as never before.
In fact, whenever Negre made one of his many visits to Delhi to inspect the progress of the preparations for the World Cup, he was given a royal treatment and left a happy man. After the World Cup, the FIH saw a lot of merit in awarding the Champions Trophy and the Olympic Qualifying tournament to Delhi, as India was perceived as a cash cow. The FIH also promised to award many other important events to India for the revival of the game here.
But with Kalmadi’s arrest in connection with the Commonwealth Games scams, things took a tumble overnight, as it were, as Hockey India was left without a charismatic head -- it is still without a president after Vidya Stokes resigned to fall in line with the Government fiat on tenure and age-limit - forcing secretary-general Narinder Batra to hold the fort.
Managing day-to-day administration and getting a challenging event like the Champions Trophy going by roping in the right kind of sponsors, are two different ball games and the present management was not rising to the FIH’s expectations. Though Kalmadi held no formal post in HI, it was common knowledge that he wielded ‘the’ power and played the lead role in the successful conduct of the World Cup.
Moreover, HI’s monopoly over the game took a beating when the Government was forced to recognise the existence of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) following a Delhi High Court ruling. When Ajay Maken was appointed Sports Minister, he took active interest in getting the two hockey bodies either merged, or form a working relationship, which raised the hackles of the FIH.
FIH suddenly became aggressive, as it contended that it would only deal with HI, as the Champions Trophy and the Olympic Qualifiers were awarded to HI. FIH threatened to pull out these events if the “joint board” arrangement mentioned in the “settlement minutes” of IHF and HI was not rescinded, as the FIH Executive Board felt that the settlement “breaches not only the FIH Statutes, but also the Olympic Charter”.
Maken was willing to talk to Negre and hoped to settle the matter when the FIH chief visited Delhi on September 13. But Negre pre-empted that decision and in a two-page letter to Maken, in reply to the Government’s response to the initial IHF posers, he stunned everyone connected with Indian hockey by announcing that the Champions Trophy would be moved out of India.
But Negre conveniently left out the name of the alternate venue, leaving space for bargaining -- to extract his pound of monetary flesh. The FIH threat was intended to blackmail the Government and HI to give in to its demands, which was evident in the small print of the last paragraph of the letter, which read: “The other point upon which I am being pressed by my Executive Board is in relation to the amount of approximately US$500,000, which is owed to FIH, pursuant to contract for the men’s World Cup held in Delhi in March, 2010.The release of this money is apparently being refused by the Reserve Bank of India. It would help if a written explanation is provided as to the reasons why this money is being withheld together with the steps that the FIH is required to take in order that payment can be made. The money is clearly the property of the FIH”.
So that’s it. It all boils down to money and money alone. If Maken manages to make the RBI release the blocked dollars, Negre will once again sing the Indian tune, like a canary! Perhaps the FIH also fears that the World Series Hockey league, to be held under the aegis of the IHF, without sanction from the FIH, will take the thunder away from the Champions Trophy and might eat into the sponsorship business of hockey.
While the International Hockey Federation has been making a lot of noise about propriety and making all the threatening noises, a display of dollars that the FIH needs desperately could well make it change its tune about the Champions Trophy.
M.S. Unnikrishnan
International Hockey Federation (FIH) president Leandro Negre must really be missing the incarcerated Suresh Kalmadi in this time of crises for Indian hockey. When Kalmadi was around, particularly during the turbulent days leading to the formation of Hockey India and the run up to the hosting of the World Cup in Delhi in March 2010, he played his cards well and pulled the right strings to get things moving and cracking at a fast pace.
The thumping success of the World Cup held at the renovated, world-class Dhyan Chand Stadium impressed the FIH top brass. They also realised the enormous potential of generating much-needed funds by selling hockey in India. Kalmadi and his team got many sponsors for the World Cup and filled the FIH coffers as never before.
In fact, whenever Negre made one of his many visits to Delhi to inspect the progress of the preparations for the World Cup, he was given a royal treatment and left a happy man. After the World Cup, the FIH saw a lot of merit in awarding the Champions Trophy and the Olympic Qualifying tournament to Delhi, as India was perceived as a cash cow. The FIH also promised to award many other important events to India for the revival of the game here.
But with Kalmadi’s arrest in connection with the Commonwealth Games scams, things took a tumble overnight, as it were, as Hockey India was left without a charismatic head -- it is still without a president after Vidya Stokes resigned to fall in line with the Government fiat on tenure and age-limit - forcing secretary-general Narinder Batra to hold the fort.
Managing day-to-day administration and getting a challenging event like the Champions Trophy going by roping in the right kind of sponsors, are two different ball games and the present management was not rising to the FIH’s expectations. Though Kalmadi held no formal post in HI, it was common knowledge that he wielded ‘the’ power and played the lead role in the successful conduct of the World Cup.
Moreover, HI’s monopoly over the game took a beating when the Government was forced to recognise the existence of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) following a Delhi High Court ruling. When Ajay Maken was appointed Sports Minister, he took active interest in getting the two hockey bodies either merged, or form a working relationship, which raised the hackles of the FIH.
FIH suddenly became aggressive, as it contended that it would only deal with HI, as the Champions Trophy and the Olympic Qualifiers were awarded to HI. FIH threatened to pull out these events if the “joint board” arrangement mentioned in the “settlement minutes” of IHF and HI was not rescinded, as the FIH Executive Board felt that the settlement “breaches not only the FIH Statutes, but also the Olympic Charter”.
Maken was willing to talk to Negre and hoped to settle the matter when the FIH chief visited Delhi on September 13. But Negre pre-empted that decision and in a two-page letter to Maken, in reply to the Government’s response to the initial IHF posers, he stunned everyone connected with Indian hockey by announcing that the Champions Trophy would be moved out of India.
But Negre conveniently left out the name of the alternate venue, leaving space for bargaining -- to extract his pound of monetary flesh. The FIH threat was intended to blackmail the Government and HI to give in to its demands, which was evident in the small print of the last paragraph of the letter, which read: “The other point upon which I am being pressed by my Executive Board is in relation to the amount of approximately US$500,000, which is owed to FIH, pursuant to contract for the men’s World Cup held in Delhi in March, 2010.The release of this money is apparently being refused by the Reserve Bank of India. It would help if a written explanation is provided as to the reasons why this money is being withheld together with the steps that the FIH is required to take in order that payment can be made. The money is clearly the property of the FIH”.
So that’s it. It all boils down to money and money alone. If Maken manages to make the RBI release the blocked dollars, Negre will once again sing the Indian tune, like a canary! Perhaps the FIH also fears that the World Series Hockey league, to be held under the aegis of the IHF, without sanction from the FIH, will take the thunder away from the Champions Trophy and might eat into the sponsorship business of hockey.
NOTE:The Tribune 9/9/2011
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