A COUPLE of sponsors may have dropped out from the M-League but it is still pretty much alive and kicking.
There have been talks of new corporate players interested in coming in.
The Malaysian Football League (MFL), organisers of the M-League, are said to have lost about RM3 million in sponsorship following the withdrawal of CIMB Group and AirAsia. Worryingly for MFL, Telekom Malaysia could also reduce their RM30 million sponsorship by half.
However, this situation could present new opportunities for other sponsors to venture into Malaysia's most popular sport. As it is, MFL are in the midst of negotiating with several corporations.
There has also been speculation that Berjaya Corporation Berhad is looking at coming in with RM5 million for the MFL and FA of Malaysia.
When asked about Berjaya's involvement, MFL chief executive officer Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said he had "no comment".
He said MFL will issue a statement when they have come to an agreement with their new sponsors.
According to Ghani, MFL will not reveal the amount of sponsorship out of respect for those involved.
Nonetheless, he said MFL are working hard to maintain the RM1 million allocation to each of the 12 Super League teams and RM500,000 to each of the 12 Premier League teams despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Maybank is said to be interested in "opening an account" in the M-League, Bank Rakyat is speculated to be keen on sponsoring the national team.