New Delhi: Fancode and Genius Sports, owned by Dream 11, have emerged as the two bidders for the commercial rights. Indian Super League (ISL) and Federation Cup on the 15+5 years model which was launched earlier this month. Capri Sports, a subsidiary of Capri Global, is the sole party interested in the rights to the Indian Women’s League (IWL) and IWL 2.After a long day where the tender document was presented to the 14 ISL clubs for the first time and three bids were evaluated based on their technical and financial aspects, it was back to the drawing board for all concerned. Genius Sports, the official data feed provider for the English Premier League, Championship, and Scottish League, bid Rs 2,129 crore over 20 years. Besides being a data provider, Genius Sports’ technology is also used for real-time betting odds. This may prove to be a hindrance at a later stage as betting is illegal in India.Fancode, meanwhile, went with a more pragmatic approach of Rs 36 crore per annum with a 5 per cent increase, amounting to around Rs 1,190 crore, almost half of Genius Sports’ bid. The AIFF and the ISL clubs will now meet again in the next few days to consider the tender document and details of the bids. A club that Timesofindia.com spoke to said the decision would take a few days.Capri Sports is the only contender for IWL and IWL 2 to bid Rs 150 crore over 20 years. GMR Sports, which attended the pre-bid meeting, ultimately did not bid. It is understood that the entity behind several sports projects, including IPL’s Delhi Capitals, had asked for more time but the AIFF did not agree. The Indian Football Federation had already extended the bid deadline from March 20 to March 26. As far as the tender is concerned, it will be over media rights. This will include sponsorship, advertising, digital and data initiatives, merchandising, and commercial opportunities linked to the event – creating a long-term deal that consolidates the complete commercial ecosystem of Indian club football.During the initial stages, the AIFF had introduced a strict eligibility requirement: companies had to purchase a Request for Proposal (RFP) for Rs 2.5 lakh, and only those entities were allowed to submit bids.
