CRICKET AWARDS ON NEW SCALE
SLC ditches event initiator Cricketers Association and finds new sponsor in Dialog
We hope to have the awards in an unprecedented scale to do justice to the achievements of our cricketers
The annual Sri Lanka Cricket ( SLC) awards ceremony dubbed the local cricket Oscars has shed its old skin and will take a completely new look from this year, sources said.
Interestingly, Sri Lanka Cricketers Association (SLCA) the local member of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Association (FICA) which was the initiator of the concept of a local awards ceremony for cricketers and their devoted commercial partner CEAT, a leading Indian tyre company have both been swiftly elbowed out as SLC has taken complete control of the event.
“We hope to have the awards in an unprecedented scale to do justice to the achievements of our cricketers. SLC will conduct it in a bigger scale than ever with new partners who have supported the worthy cause in a generous way. It is SLC’s tribute to the players who contributed positively to develop the game here” said SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga.
Sri Lanka’s leading mobile phone operator Dialog has secured the sponsorship rights of the awards for a four-year period starting this for an annual fee of Rs, 10 million per year plus taxes.
“Daily Mirror” exclusively reported on November 24 last year that CEAT sponsorship of the event was on the rocks as there was no agreement reached between SLC and CEAT over an increased sponsorship figure. CEAT sponsored the 2012 event which was held on September 5 last year at a figure of Rs. six million.
But the SLC asked for an increased figure of Rs. eight million as a shortfall of Rs. 110,000 was reported last year.
“We recommend that tenders be called for next three years keeping a benchmark value of Rs. Eight million plus taxes for the first year in order to cover all event related expenses and achieve a surplus to be utilized by SLC for non-event related matters” SLC Marketing Division recommended.
The Marketing Division wanted fresh bids called for the sponsorship as they had strongly felt that CEAT who had been the event sponsor for the past four years were in breach of the agreement they had signed.
The SLC Marketing Division had pointed out that CEAT had breached the agreement by failing to confirm their sponsorship for the next two years within 15 days of the completion of the 2012 event, as per the requirement.
For that reason, the agreement was deemed to be discontinued for the balance two years till March 31, 2015 and Dialog won the new deal when SLC invited fresh bids this year.
Earlier in May this year, Dialog which boasts of a customer base of 7.5 million subscribers, also sealed the country’s biggest ever sponsorship deal worth Rs. 754 million plus taxes to clinch the title of “Official National Team Sponsor of Sri Lanka Cricket”.
Sri Lanka Cricketers Association (SLCA) spokesman Ken de Alwis confirmed that they have not been informed of the arrangements of the ceremony. “It is SLCA which started the awards concept in keeping with the tradition of other member nations of FICA. FICA initiated the international awards ceremony with International Cricket Council (ICC). But as it is well known, ICC sidelined FICA from awards in keeping with the demands of Indian Cricket Board. So, we can see SLC taking the same path. We have not been invited by SLC this year” said de Alwis.
SLCA initiated the awards in 2009 and conducted it for two years with CEAT as their commercial partners before they invited SLC also to come on board. Though the cracks in the relationship between SLC and SLCA had begun to appear starkly, the two held the event jointly last year.
But just four days after the event, SLC Secretary Ranatunga told media that they do not acknowledge SLCA as a legitimate entity.
“To my knowledge the Cricketers’ Association is not a recognized body,” Ranatunga who himself had been a former top official of the SLCAsaid.
De Alwis said yesterday that they might go ahead with having their own awards ceremony if their usual awards ceremony with SLC does not materialise this year.
“I agree that it might dilute the value of awards. But it all depends on how progress” said de Alwis who added that they had disagreements last year about who presented awards.
“Last year, it was all SLC employees like managers, accountants who gave away the awards. Cricketers wouldn’t like to receive their awards from such common people. It is an insult to them. It’s distinguished past cricketers who should have given away the awards” revealed de Alwis.
Ranatunga, a former Sri Lankan cricketer himself, claimed they understood the issue and said that they would rectify it this year.
This year’s event has tentatively been planned for September 8 and the event is also likely to move out of its customary location – The Wa- ter’s Edge hotel where it was held for the past four years since inception.
SLC's Head of Marketing and Communications Vajira Dassanayake said that all awards categories will remain in tact while SLC will soon start the SMS competition for the “People’s player award”. He also revealed that the award winners will be picked by a specialist panel of judges.