Reuters
New Delhi: The Bengal chit-fund scam, which hit Kolkata's I-League clubs hard finacially, has now robbed the Indian football team of a chance of improving its FIFA rankings by playing friendlies against Pakistan and Bangladesh in London. The organisers of the trip backed off citing "unforeseen reasons".
The Kolkata-based Celebrity Management Group (CMG), promoters of the London tour, have informed the All India Football Federation (AIFF) that the event has been postponed owing to unforeseen reasons.
But sources in the AIFF said that the cash crunch owing to the chit fund scam in West Bengal forced the organisers to put off the tournament.
Rose Valley, a prominent chit-fund company under the government scanner, was one of the sponsors of the trip, but it has backed out after the Saradha scam came to light in West Bengal. Rose Valley is also an associate sponsor of East Bengal.
"CMG, in a letter, has informed us that it was forced to postpone the tournament owing to unforeseen reasons. The tour was also being sponsored by Rose Valley and since the chit fund companies are under government scanner, we think CMG could not raise money for the tournament," a senior AIFF official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
No comments:
Post a Comment