Sports is no longer a pastime or a matter of hobby alone. It has attained a prestigious status all over the world. One can well imagine its importance by the craze of sports lovers seen at the time of matches, the coverage it gets in newspapers, magazines and television programmes. It involves both prestige and huge sums of money. For few it is a full-fledged business to organise matches. On the one hand, a good player or a good team can bring international fame to the country, on the other it may fetch lucrative returns in the form of cash prizes and awards. Even otherwise an international championship involves as much as hundred million dollars. In order to cash upon the popularity of international sports events and avail of the opportunity they provide for advertising their products, the corporate world is spending astronomically high amounts of money by way of sponsorships.
Some of the prominent Indian companies which are sponsoring games are Reliance, Wills, Titan, MRF, JCT, Phillips, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Tata. SAIL (Steel Authority of India), one of there forerunner public sector units is sponsoring players and tournaments. In addition, training facilities to the sportspersons are also offered by some of the big companies. Britannia, Tata, MRF are some of the companies which have extended these facilities. These facts, in a way. indicate the potential of sports and scope it can provide to the players.
