Aus firm slams C'wealth Games OC for terminating contract

Australian firm Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM) on Wednesday hit out at the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee for "wrongfully, viciously and abruptly" terminating its services, saying the OC took the step to deviate attention from the ongoing corruption furore and avoid paying the company.

"The OC has wrongfully, viciously, abruptly and publicly terminated SMAM's agreement in a manner that is not only counter to the agreement and inconsistent with the interests of staging successful Commonwealth Games in India, but also detrimental to the goodwill and reputation of the Commonwealth Games Movement," SMAM said in a statement.

"SMAM believes that the OC's allegations and grounds for termination are imaginary and concocted and an attempt to deviate attention from the more serious issues and charges related to the upcoming Delhi Games. We also believe that the OC has served the alleged termination to SMAM as it does not intend to honour its financial commitments to SMAM," it added.

The company was roped in to bring sponsorship for the Games but its contract was terminated by OC on grounds of "non-performance" after a corruption furore rocked the October 3 to 14 Games.

But SMAM dismissed the OC's allegations of "non-performance".

"Owing to the diligent and concerted efforts by SMAM a record breaking sponsorship income totalling over Rs 400 crores (US $85 million) has been generated in respect of the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games so far. It has been the highest ever in the history of the Commonwealth Games surpassing the revenue achieved for the Melbourne 2006 Games. Further

sponsorships are expected to materialise in the coming weeks," it said.

"SMAM refutes in the strongest possible terms the OC's allegations of non-performance by SMAM and all other imaginary and concocted claims made by the OC simply to contrive grounds for termination.

"The organisers fail to recognise that the sponsorship revenue targets that the OC set, and identified as one of the main grounds for termination, represent just one of several important objectives in the agreement," it added.

SMAM said contrary to media reports of it getting commissions, the company had not received any money from the OC.

"SMAM has been delivering an extensive range of marketing services to the OC since 2007. These services have been provided to the OC by experienced and specialised executives, from India and abroad, many of whom have delivered the then record-breaking and most successful 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games," it said.