BCCI invites bids for partnership rights of WPL

The BCCI has invited bids from reputed entities for acquiring official partnership rights for the Women’s Premier League.

The detailed terms and conditions governing the tender process including eligibility requirements, the process for submissions of bids, rights, and obligations, etc. are contained in the ‘Request for Quotation’ (“RFQ”) which will be made available on receipt of payment of a non-refundable fee of INR 1,00,000 (Indian Rupees One Lakh Only) plus any applicable Goods and Services Tax. The RFQ will be available for purchase till January 19, 2024.

Interested parties have been requested to email the details of payment made for the purchase of the RFQ to rfq@bcci.tv. It is further clarified that the RFQ documents shall be shared only upon the confirmation of payment of the non-refundable RFQ fee.

Any interested party wishing to submit a bid is required to purchase the RFQ. However, only those satisfying the eligibility criteria set out in the RFQ and subject to the other terms and conditions set out therein shall be eligible to bid. It is also clarified that merely purchasing the RFQ does not entitle any person to bid.

The attention of the interested parties is brought to Annexure B which details certain brand categories in which the interested party cannot bid. BCCI reserves the right to cancel or amend the bidding process at any stage in any manner without providing any reason.

The Women’s Premier League kicked off last year and was an instant success, with BCCI finally foraying into the women’s franchise-based league market with their new product. Indian business conglomerate Tata Group, which holds the title rights for the Indian Premier League, bagged the title rights to the women’s league for five years after Viacom 18 pocketed the media rights for five years (2023-27) for INR 951 crore, making the league the second-most expensive broadcast contract for a women’s sports league across the globe.

The second edition of the tournament is likely to get underway on February 22, with the final on March 17. BCCI secretary Jay Shah confirmed after the WPL auction that the league will be conducted in one state. While Shah remained tight-lipped on which state will play the host, it is understood that Maharashtra, where the inaugural edition was also played, is the front-runner owing to the logistical ease and availability of four venues – three in Mumbai and one in Pune.

“The tournament will start in February, and in terms of the venues, we will hold it in one state. For us, logistics is very important for us this time around. Next time, we will figure it out,” Shah told reporters after the auction. “We have Bengaluru, Uttar Pradesh. There are so many places where we can host matches. In Gujarat also, we can do it in Ahmedabad, Rajkot and in Vadodara after a few years.”