IPL 2020: BCCI invites 'expressions of interest' for title sponsorship rights

Mumbai:The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday invited 'expression of interest' for the title sponsorship rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season, which will be held in United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 19 to November 10.

''The Rights are available for the period from August 18, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Details regarding the Rights and product categories in which the Rights are available will be provided only to parties who submit the EOI and are found eligible,'' BCCI said in a statement.

According to BCCI statement, interested parties need to buy the bid document by August 14 with the BCCI announcing the wining bid four days later.

It further said that the board will inform these third parties who need to then submit the final bid.

The BCCI has also made it clear that only companies with an annual turnover of at least Rs 300 crore would be eligible to bid for the IPL title sponsorship.

The development comes days after Chinese smartphone maker Vivo decided to suspend its title sponsorship deal for the IPL for the 2020 season amid the rising tensions between India and China at the Line of Actual Control. 

The BCCI also stated that bidding the highest amount may not fetch the rights for a company if the board is not satisfied with its plans on commercialising its most precious property.

BCCI gets government approval to hold IPL 2020 in UAE

New Delhi: The BCCI has received official permission from the Government of India to conduct IPL 2020 in the UAE, tournament chairman Brijesh Patel confirmed to Cricbuzz. 

The franchises, who had been waiting for the official government go-ahead until Monday morning, will shortly meet with the BCCI office bearers where the board will discuss the Standard Operating Procedures as well as address any concerns franchises have before jetting off to UAE around August 21.

The green-lighting from the various wings of the central government - including the Ministry of Home and External Affairs - is a shot in the arm for the board, which is faced with several logistical and administrative hurdles to move the tournament out of India amidst the Coronavirus pandemic.

Among BCCI's 11th hour concerns is finding a replacement title sponsor after Vivo invoked the Force Majeure clause in their contract to withdraw from this season. Patel confirmed that the board had floated an Expression of Interest (EOI) and expressed optimism of finding a suitable replacement sponsor for this season.

It remains to be seen, however, if the new sponsor or a consortium of sponsors can match Vivo's valuation of Rs 440 crores per season, although the BCCI has sought to mitigate any losses by setting the base value of the bid at Rs 300 crores. Fifty percent of this winning-bid value will be split eight ways among the franchises as per the revised revenue sharing agreement.

"There is a lot of interest (in acquiring the IPL title rights), so let's see what we get," Patel told Cricbuzz.(UNI)