Sports in India

“A new social compact involving all stakeholders to

launch a nationwide movement of youth in sports
and unleash a new wave of sports consciousness
and sports development”
No, I dint say this!! Dr. Manmohan Singh did –
more than 2 years back. But like many others, he
never suggested how we create this new order.
As an emerging leader, I couldn’t help but suggest
a few, over the next 9 slides

- Vivek Menon, IIM Indore

 Cricket vs Other sports
Cricket – Managed by BCCI
•Most Profitable Sporting Boarding
in the country
• With the advent of IPL, BCCI has
consolidated its position as the
world’s most powerful cricket board
with enough profit share and
mindshare to take key decisions
• Television rights and other
sponsorship deals are the biggest
revenue earners for BCCI
Cricket, which is still not an
Olympic sport is most
popular in the subcontinent.
All the other major sporting
federations and IOC has
neither been able to reach
the profitability nor the
popularity of what BCCI has
successfully done.
Olympic Games (IOC at helm )
•Hockey – IHF
•Football – AIFF
•Basketball – BFI
•Volleyball – VFI
•Boxing - IABF
•Athletics – AFI
•Other Olympic Games
• Most of the boards are ailing and
caught up in petty lobbyism and
internal feuds
The ailing sports federations will need to go through 4 distinct
stages to achieve the 2P’s – Profitability and Popularity
 Stage 1 : IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
MACRO LEVEL
 Infrastructure related woes
 Govt Apathy
 No tangible system for Talent spotting
 Lack of a general Sporting culture
 Health and Fitness issue
 Neglected Champions
 Lack of sponsorship
 Zero International Exposure
 No long term incentive in pursuing sports
as a career
MICRO LEVEL – Grass root
 Lobbyists at various points of team selection –
Regionalism
 Very few opportunities for children/youth to
develop expertise in a particular sport
 Zero aspiration to become WORLD CLASS
 Lack of support from educational institutes
 Lack of a proper league/ from district level
 Absolutely zero knowledge about fitness and diet
 Video Footage of personal training and competitors
not available

While some of these problems are addressed in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th stages, there are a
few issues that will need some radical steps from the Govt Of India
There is the need for an Indian Sports Commission to be setup headed by a Strong
Industry experienced stalwart with keen interest in Sports (eg - Nandan Nilkeni for
unique ID model). The chairperson can set committees for each sport with co chairs in
each committee – Co chair will be a person who has excelled in the sports
nationally/internationally
 Engagement Structure for Popular Sports like
Football/Hockey

Drive Overall Strategy ,Mindshare and National Team selection National Level
Team

Accountable for all zonal level tournaments and selection

INDIAN SPORTS COMIMISSION - 2 National
Heads (1 Direct Representation from Govt
for Revival of Sports, Cabinet Rank, similar

who has represented India ) heading the

to Nandan Nilekani, 1 Ex- Sportsperson

Zonal Teams
entire team of National Selectors

and other
State Level Selection leagues
Team

District Level Selection

Zonal Level Team
Executive/Selection State Level State Level State Level
team (comprising of Team Team Team
Stakeholders at district
national/zonal level level
players
Coach/Mentor/ Physio District Level District Level District Level
at District level T2
Team T1 Team Team

• One to One Engagement at the Sport Centre

Sports Mgmnt should be done by specialized • Stakeholders include all the schools (state/ICSE/CBSE), M.P’s, MLA’s,
Mgmnt Graduates and proven sportsperson - District Heads
Helps reduce Political clout

Athletics/Archery etc will go by the Indian

Institute Of Sports Model given in Stage 3
 Engagement Model

At each district level, a sporting centre (stadium) will be WHO ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS –
established. a) All the school level educational institutions of the district
The stake holders at each district will be responsible for each (State level, CBSE, ICSE)
of the sporting centre. b) District Head , M.P and M.L.A
With limited facilities in each School, a consolidated Sporting c) The regional media houses of state
centre per District with the each School Mgmnt as Stakeholder
will be highly beneficial

POTENTIAL SPONSORS Target Group

• Media houses are automatic stakeholders – Hence prime
visibility guaranteed
• One major sponsor per State which will ideally be a large
corporate house closely related to sports(NIKE, ADIDAS,
Fabric companies, Fitness based companies)
• Local establishments based on state characteristics
/landscape
• Kids of the age of 4. Three leagues will be established for
the age group of 4 based on the month of birth –
LEAGUE A – Jan to April LEAGUE B – May to August,
LEAGUE C – Sept to Dec
This is to eliminate the “MATHEW EFFECT “

THE ENGAGAMENT MODEL FROM THE AGE 4 (District Level to National Team)

• 3 leagues formed at Age 4 will continue to play the chosen sport for 3 years till Age 7
• At Age 7, a single DISTRICT TEAM is selected. The team is referred by the birth year of the children (eg – 02 batch in 2009)
• DISTRICT TEAMS to play inter district matches within state till AGE 10. At AGE 10, one STATE TEAM per year of birth are
selected (referred to year)
• From Age 10 to Age 12, a state team member can appear for ZONAL TEAM selection. i.e. The Zonal team is selected from
the Age Group of 10, 11 and 12. If not selected in a particular year, you continue to play State level till Age 12
• From Age 12 to Age 15, all the Zonal team members play zonal level tournaments.
• From Age 15, NATIONAL LEVEL selection will take place.
By such an exhaustive selection process for the National team, where a player is groomed at each level, the famous 10,000
hour rule will be satisfied. The selected national player would have definitely played with/against his team member
numerous times and this will form the backbone of a strong team
 STAGE 3 “Investment” – How to make sports popular??
RESPONSIBILITY TO POPULARIZE THE SPORT
Before implementing an engagement model for future sportspersons, we
need to look for various avenues to popularize these sports.
While various steps need to be taken to popularize the sport, the
responsibility needs to be shared between a) National & Zonal Level
Executive Team b) State & District Level Executive Team
Stakeholders of each state/ district are ultimately responsible for generating
funds for such investments at grass root level
An Entertainment based model for fund generation –
• The Sporting Complex of each district should stand as cultural pillars of
the region
• Timing of each tournament ( Zonal, State and District) should be
planned according to the social lifestyle of the district.
• Promotion of movies along with each tournament/teams
• Screening of movies after each match in open
• Organizing theme based MELA and carnival promoting sporting culture
• Product Launch /New Product display conducted between matches
• Brand Promotion through participating teams
• Each state/zone can promote Sports Tourism by inviting international
Tier 2/3 leagues for friendly matches
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Establishing one sports school (Indian Institute of Sports) in every
state with the highest level of facilities. Since athletics/archery/
weightlifting etc cannot go through such a rigorous league system, the
most promising candidates in such areas from the district level will be
admitted to such Sports school.
Each school can be super specialized in a single area – Athletics in
Kerala, Weightlifting in A.P etc.
Govt. Funding and reservation for students from such schools for
higher education
Establish Sports Grading as a mandatory component for Class 10 and
12th examination where each student will specialize practically and
theoretically in at least 2 areas of sports
FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS –
Investments from Govt. are hard to get and time consuming, hence private
sector partnership has to be introduced
Injury Management Insurance against Career threatening injuries and Career
Mgmnt Agencies to be set up at Zonal levels
The initial expense of building sports complex can be shared by Govt and
other stakeholders – Corporate level Donation Campaigns can be organized
Private partner for each state/district will be a consortium of a media
houses( Regional TV channels, Newspapers, Radios), Large corporate houses
with interest in sporting industry (Shoe manuf. Like NIKE, Fabric manuf.,
Fitness equipments, Fitness goods, health food), Other local industries and
commercial establishments ( eg: Jewelers in Kerala, IT companies in
Karnataka, Construction giants in Delhi)
National /Zonal Level Sponsor for merchandizing/TV rights etc.
Training coaches/physcio and dieticians at district level to become a part of
the sports centre
NON FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS –
Support from Govt, will be in terms of mind share, such as –
Free allocation of govt. owned stadiums/ existing sporting facilities for all
ailing sports until the federation breakevens. Tie up with BCCI to provide
stadiums
Making it mandatory for District Heads, MP’s and MLA’s to become
stakeholders in their constituencies initiatives – Allocate more funds through
them.
Make it mandatory for all State/CBSE schools to affiliate to the INITIATIVE
and establish the stadium in their location
Try and persuade all Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan recipients to associate
with their home towns sporting centre.Film stars and celebrities need to be
asked to associate with a sport – In Kerala, Mohanlal and Mamooty are
currently ambassadors for Athletics and Volleyball respectively
Since the expenses are low in District and State leagues, we will not require
huge International sponsors.
 Additional Investments
• Improve the culture of Physical Recreational Activity such as walking, aerobics which is very low in India – Organize
Marathons across the country, Group Activities in Sports Centre, Yoga Sessions etc.
• Government many invite teams from various countries as guests of Indian Govt. Friendly matches to be organized
• Coacher’s coaching camps - national level camps for coaches at various levels

Concept of Indian Institute Of Sports –

• Located in Every State Capital for disciplines where league is not possible such as Aquatics, Athletics, Gymnastics,
Weighlifting
• Residential training coupled with a competition venue, complete with all modern amenities. A world-class/national level
coach, aided by 5- 10 zone level coaches, would run the program.
• Kids of age 7 and above can apply within their state. Partnerships with premier schools would address their educational
needs. Direct reservations to graduation level colleges
• Each Academy will also try to run self sufficient by finding a sponsor.
• Govt. may try and impose a rule of compulsory 25% fund diversion from the CSR activity of Private Sector companies to
Indian Institute of Sports
• Give mind share to the revival, research and development of regional based sports, which are nearly extinct.
Incentives – “What is the PROFITABILITY attached to the new engagement
model”
WHO ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS?
Government of India
Association of Schools
Elected Representatives and District Heads
Sponsoring companies
Media Houses
WHAT ARE THE INCENTIVES ASSOCIATED
Government – Improvement in the sporting activity/performance in ailing areas
Association of Schools – Improving the sporting culture, competitive nature of students. Additional Perks from Central
government based on Points accumulated through the representation of students in various leagues
Elected Reps & District Heads – More funds allocated. One of the parameter of performance of MLA, MP measured
based on the representation in league/IIS from their district. More perks granted based on points accumulated

Sponsoring Companies - For companies like NIKE, ADIDAS, they are able to attract an entirely new range of target
customer group in India which did not exist till now. For other sponsoring companies, visibility is an important
factor, which is materialized through the new model
Media Houses: Media houses will naturally get associated with the initiative since it will become a sort of hygiene
factor for them to cover the program – which is hyped across through various points

HOW ARE THEY INCENTIVIZED

• A point based performance metric can be introduced to keep a track on the performance at each district
• Based on the point accumulated, the stakeholder will be incentivized by the Central Govt.
 Immediate Step
• One of the first steps that the Indian Sports Commission would take if entrusted
with power is to control the participation for International Events.
• Either a blanket ban until the National team/National representative reaches
international standards or
Issuance of incentives to the sports person (including Job, Insurance etc) if they
only clear international bench marks and not when they represent India

• Only such a drastic step will induce the thought of becoming WORLD CLASS into
the minds of Indian Athletes – today, their priorities are different, their ambitions
reach a dead-end, once they get selected to represent India.

Thank You