The cash-rich Board of Control for Cricket in India, which expects another big revenue stream from the Indian Premier League promoted by it, has increased its grant for other sports from Rs 50 lakh a year to a whopping Rs 25 crore for 2008-09.
“It is quite natural as the board has earned a handsome amount of money from different sources in the last fiscal. Our management did not think twice bef of the BCCI’s finance committee.
The BCCI has already zeroed in on one Indian sportsperson heading for the Beijing Olympics.
“We are backing Susmita Singha Roy, the heptathlete who has qualified for the Beijing Olympics,” he said. The BCCI has given her Rs 15 lakh for getting upgraded on the European circuit.
“The BCCI will also look at other disciplines and fund sportspersons after checking the criteria,” Pal said.
The BCCI has also tied up with the Union ministry of sports and youth welfare for a joint fund, to which it has contributed Rs 15 crore.
The BCCI earned Rs 650 crore during the financial year to March 31, 2007, against Rs 430 crore the previous year, and expects the IPL to boost revenues further.
“The major growth will be seen once the IPL gets over. The board expects to earn a lot from aggressive marketing of cricket,” Pal said.
Pal said the BCCI, had it been a company, would have ranked among the country’s top 170 companies.
“Can you imagine we have bypassed the companies like Zee Entertainment, Colgate Pamolive, Whirlpool and Glaxo SmithKline?” he said.