[Bengia Ajum]
ITANAGAR, 11 Nov: In a first of its kind, the Arunachal Pradesh Football Association (APFA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Faridabad (Haryana)-based Grabin Sports Pvt Ltd (GSPL) on Thursday in New Delhi, making the firm the ‘equipment partner’ of the APFA for the upcoming seasons.
On behalf of the APFA, its honorary secretary Kipa Ajay, who is also the treasurer of the All India Football Federation (AIFF), signed the MoU, with GSPL director S Sabera representing GSPL.
The MoU will be effective for two years.
With the signing of the MoU, the APFA has become the first sport association from the state to sign an MoU with a sport brand. The company will sponsor equipment for both men and women teams, from junior to senior level, in national level events.
“First of all, I would like to thank Grabin Sports Private Limited for agreeing to partner with us to promote football. When the two-year agreement ends, we will extend the agreement if we are satisfied with its support,” said Ajay.
He said that the signing of the MoU would take away massive financial burden from the APFA. “We always felt the resource crunch due to lack of proper sponsors. But with this initiative, our players will get to use quality equipment for free and, hopefully, it will help the state’s football in the long run. We are trying to match the standards of other leading football playing states,” said Ajay.
He also announced that the Arunachal League Football Tournament will be privatised and a new format will be ready by the end of the year.
“We will give franchises, and the process to revive the league has started. It is being done to improve the standard of football by involving private companies to invest in football here in Arunachal Pradesh,” Ajay said.
He said also that the AIFF is planning to conduct the North East Premier League in the coming days.
