Sponsor cloud over World Cup

Disputes over sponsorship still threaten to engulf the World Cup. With only three months before the start of the biggest and most lucrative event in the sport, the prospect of player boycott has still not disappeared. There is also plenty of scope for animosity between countries.

While individual Indian players remain at the forefront of delicate negotiations, England are also trying to save their team sponsorship with Vodafone for the tournament.

Prolonged commercial damage which could cost individuals and teams millions – as well as making it difficult for the International Cricket Council to secure future backing – is a distinct likelihood. The build-up to the event in South Africa seems certain to be dominated by money rather than what may or may not happen on the field.

The row remains what it was when the ICC Champions' Trophy last September was under threat: the conflict between tournament sponsors and team and personal sponsors. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are hoping to persuade the ICC to allow their players to sport the Vodafone name and logo on their clothing. It could have a huge bearing on their ability to negotiate future team deals.

Vodafone have poured millions of pounds into English cricket over the past five years, and it is hardly possible for an England player to appear in public without wearing a baseball cap sporting the company's logo. The World Cup would be a chance to ensure their name was seen round the world. But one of the tournament's backers is the South African company Mobile Telephone Network (MTN). They have long been associated with South African cricket and have a seven-year deal with the national team worth 54 million rand (£3.6m). They have seized the chance to be a World Cup sponsor.

There would be an obvious conflict between MTN and Vodafone. The ECB are claiming that it would make little difference, an argument which may hold little water.

India would also be aggrieved. In the Champions' Trophy they were forced to drop the logo of their sponsor, Sahara Airlines, from their shirts because of the connections with the event of South African Airways. The ICC said there was a conflict, although Sahara run only Indian internal flights. SAA are one of the major commercial partners of the World Cup.

The reaction of India and of Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of their board, if England were now permitted to retain their sponsors' logos can only be imagined. Dalmiya was in talks last week with Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the ICC. Speed is cautiously optimistic of a reasonable outcome, but he is having to deal with a position agreed by his predecessors.

Players have still to be mollified with a view to their agreeing not to endorse rival products during the tournament. For instance, a soft-drinks firm sponsoring the event might not like a player endorsing a competitor. The ICC have established a player contracts committee, but a long road lies ahead.