The All-India Chess Federation (AICF) has inked an association with MPL Foundation, the mobile gaming application will be the sponsor of all National Championships for the next five years starting from the Under-7 age groups.
The two parties have signed a lucrative agreement for a sponsorship amount of One Crore towards the sponsorships for the Indian National Championships for the upcoming five years with a 20% raise every year.
Collaboration with MPL is the first time that a corporate sponsor has got into a long term association with the AICF. The decision has been taken by the new team and has been receiving praise from all corners.
While speaking on the collaboration, AICF president Dr Sanjay Kapoor said, “We have huge plans for the sport in the country. This is one of the first steps in that direction. We are committed to keep working for the betterment of chess with the vision of making India the Number One Chess-playing nation in the world,” he said.
Indian chess is going through a good stint lately, the women’s team recently won its first-ever silver medal in the World Team Championship in Spain. The unified squad also claimed a bronze medal in the Online Chess Olympiad.
AICF Secretary Bharat Singh Chauhan said, “I am proud to say that today we have people who are very committed towards upliftment of the game, the game has grown many folds in the last one year and this is only the beginning.”