Sponsors and how it works.

Malaysian chess need funding and we have no results. Catch 22. That limits our options. But the business world may be more forgiving if they see that we have our act together. That we have a plan.

But here's a glimpse on how our chess leaders think. I had my first alarm bell when Dr Yee of PICA met with my potential sponsor during the meeting with Dato Tan in Ipoh. After Dato had left Dr Yee told my sponsor that they had to write a proposal to PICA.

Prior to that the sponsors had told me they were willing to consider a budget of RM2 million over a 10 year period and wanted us to show them a plan. They wanted to partner PICA, work together and ensure that their money was well spent. After that one meeting they backed out. Lucky for them and an embarassment for me.

Consider this fact, this reality. The person who finances is King. Not a very pleasant situation but you have to live with that if you have no results. So it appears to me that PICA writes the proposal, not the sponsor if you get my drift. After all isnt it supposed to be PICA who knows about chess? And arent they the ones that need the money?

Eventually, if results are gotten and you now have a whole host of sponsors knocking at your door, lining the streets because they all want to be associated with a winner and they want to ride on your success. Then and only then you call the shots. And even then it is advisable to still be respectful and grateful for their help.

So what is the situation with MCF? Let me tell you what our experience was when we sponsored the Asean training in my next post. Right from the horses mouth.