New sponsors sought for Thomas, Uber Cups
New sponsors sought for Thomas, Uber Cups
HONG KONG (Reuters): The International Badminton Federation (IBF) is scouting for new sponsors and trying to cut costs to stage the finals of the Thomas and Uber Cups as planned in Hong Kong, an official said yesterday.
"We are now looking for smaller sponsors and working to trim the budget," said IBF council member Tong Wai-lun amid persistent rumors the prestigious 49-year-old tournament could be scuppered after its sponsor, an Indonesian company, pulled out because of Asia's economic crisis.
Tong, who is also an executive committee member of the Hong Kong Badminton Association (HKBA), expressed hope the cup finals would be staged in Hong Kong in May as planned and said the worst that could happen was a postponement.
There was no question of the finals being canceled because qualifying rounds had already been played in February in Norway and Manila, he told Reuters.
"The IBF will hold an executive meeting in London on March 7 and it will decide whether to go ahead (in May) as planned."
Tong was confident the finals would go ahead from May 14 to 24 and said the HKBA would seek to persuade the IBf to give the go- ahead for plans to cut costs.
"We are trying to negotiate with the players to consider paying their own (air) fares. We are also trying to cut down on transportation, hotel and personnel costs," he said.
"We are even trying to borrow fax machines and other equipment so we don't need to buy them," he said.
Another HKBA official said courts at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium -- which can accommodate up to 5,000 spectators -- had already been booked for the Hong Kong finals. Tickets have not gone on sale yet.
Sponsorship of badminton's annual top world team event is set at more than US$1 million. Organizers have been trying to lower costs since the Indonesian sponsor ran into payment problems after the drastic depreciation of the rupiah in recent months.
Badminton officials in Hong Kong would not release the name of the sponsor.
"The sponsorship is in U.S. dollars but the company is now finding it difficult to pay as it has to pay about four to five times more in rupiah," Tong said.
The financial crisis sweeping much of Asia has cast a pall of uncertainty over sport sponsorship.
Organizers of Hong Kong's top sporting event, the rugby union Sevens, had to look for backing elsewhere after its title sponsor Peregrine Investments Holdings Ltd collapsed earlier in the year when its business deals in Indonesia went sour.
Credit Suisse First Boston finally came to the rescue but ticket sales for the March event have been sluggish, compared to previous years, because of tighter purses and a tourism slump.