Sachin Tendulkar's Smaaash ropes in Cristiano Ronaldo

Smaaash Entertainment, a sports-based virtual entertainment company co-owned by Sachin Tendulkar, has roped in football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for its entry into the Middle East with arcade games built around soccer.

The company will launch a 65,000-sq ft gaming arcade with soccer, cricket and other virtual games in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in July and another in Dubai two months later, founder and chief imagination officer Shripal Morakhia said. “We perfected our electronic ball-throwing machines with cricket and are now extending that to soccer,” Morakhia said.

He refrained from commenting on the commercial value of the contract with the Real Madrid forward but said it would at least last five years and comprise an annual fee. The contract currently covers the Gulf countries and India.

“We do not take Smaaash as an endorsement; it is a partnership with like-minded people who are passionate about doing interesting work,”

Smaaash’s signature cricket venture that was built together with Tendulkar, who holds an 18 per cent stake in the company and is its brand ambassador, has turned profitable in India with an operating profit margin of 32 percent, Morakhia said.