Four private companies, including ISL side Bengaluru FC owners JSW Group, have shown interest in acquiring the commercial rights of Indian Women’s League first and second divisions for next five years, though they are yet to officially submit their bids. Capri Sports, which owns Pro Kabaddi League side Bengal Warriorz, Leisure Sports and Shrachi Sports, which had the broadcasting and production rights of the IWL and the I-League last year, were the other three companies which have sent queries regarding the tender floated by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) earlier this month.
The interest shown by the four private entities for the IWL and IWL 2 is being seen as a welcome sign for women’s football, considering that there was no taker for the commercial rights of the men’s top-tier competition Indian Super League.
Indian women’s football has shown promise this year as the national teams qualified for all three Asian Cups (Senior, U20 and U17) after more than two decades. A residential academy for girls was started and East Bengal dished out a spirited performance at the AFC Women’s Champions League.
“The four companies have already participated in pre-bid meeting (with the AIFF) though they are yet to officially submit their bids,” a reliable source told PTI.
The Request for Proposal (RPF) for the commercial rights of IWL and IWL 2 was issued on November 14 and the deadline for submitting the bids is November 29.
According to the RFP, the bidder must have net worth of at least Rs 30 crore at the close of financial year 2024-2025. In case of any consortium bidder, the cumulative net worth shall be a minimum of Rs 100 crore at the close of financial year 2024-2025.
The selected bidder must pay the AIFF a ‘Guaranteed Payment’ of Rs 3 crore or 5 per cent ‘Gross Revenues’ whichever is higher as governance and development fee.
Additionally, the bidder shall also furnish security/earnest money deposit of Rs 3 lakh.
The AIFF will constitute a Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC) consisting of three members for the selection or shortlisting of the bid.
The commercial rights being offered include advertising, broadcast, film, franchise, merchandising, production, sponsorship and video relating to the competition and matches. However, AIFF explicitly retains any data rights relating to the competitions.
The selection process involves two parts: evaluation of the technical bid and then evaluation of the commercial bid. Only those bidders achieving a minimum score of 50 per cent in the technical bid evaluation become “qualified bidders” and are eligible for the second part.
The qualified bidder quoting the highest ‘guaranteed payment’ shall ordinarily be declared the ‘selected bidder’.
The rights holder must produce and distribute the feed relating to each match, including coverage on a linear channel and/or platform that has prior experience broadcasting national and/or international football competitions. The rights holder is also designated as the title sponsor for each competition.
Revenue sharing with participating IWL and IWL 2 clubs
Under the RFP, after the deduction of the guaranteed payment and production/marketing costs, the resulting net revenue of the rights holder is shared with the AIFF. The rights holder retains 40 per cent and the AIFF receives 60 per cent as its net revenue share.
The AIFF’s net revenue share is further shared with the participating IWL and IWL 2 clubs, which is a defining feature of the new structure. The participating clubs get benefit from the revenue generated through equitable allocation of shares.
The IWL clubs will receive 70 per cent of the AIFF’s net revenue share, while IWL 2 clubs will get 20 per cent. Only 10 per cent will be retained by the AIFF.
Meanwhile, the upcoming IWL season will be held in two phases. The first phase of the league will run from December 20 to January 6, 2026, before the national team players move into preparatory mode for the women’s Asian Cup in March in Australia. The second phase will be held from April 20 to May 10.
The matches are set to be played in Kolkata and Kalyani.
With less number of match days, the upcoming IWL will be single-leg affair unlike last season, when it was played on home and away basis.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
