CONTENTS. pg FOREWORD. pg THE TWO FUNDAMENTAL PILLARS OF A SPORTING NATION

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3 CONTENTS pg FOREWORD pg THE TWO FUNDAMENTAL PILLARS OF A SPORTING NATION pg KEY DRIVERS FOR CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM FOR A SPORTING NATION pg APPROACH TO A SPORTING NATION - TOP DOWN OR BOTTOM UP? pg A COMPREHENSIVE ROADMAP FOR A SPORTING NATION pg VIABLE BUSINESS MODELS FOR ACCELERATING SPORTS DRIVERS pg CONCLUSION pg. 35 APPENDIX pg. 36 ABOUT SPORTZCONSULT

4 1. FOREWORD Let s play India, Olympic Medals will follow... We strongly believe in Mass Participation as a critical pillar in the making of a sporting nation. A country of a billion people and yet only 3 medals won at the 2008 Olympics. The statement went berserk in media. The Indian sporting ecosystem was lamented beyond imagination. But if you think about it, ours is also a country of a few thousand active population. Are we really making an apples-to-apples comparison when we compare our medal/ population with the rest of the world? IN A COUNTRY WITH 1.2 bil PEOPLE, HOW MANY ARE REALLY ACTIVE? 4

5 A sea of well intended changes has been initiated by the government, private sector as well as non-profit organizations. There are more than 10 IPL style leagues running in the country today. The government has set across a dedicated fund called TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) for supporting our Olympic hopefuls. Multiple talent development initiatives are running in the country, set up by the likes of NBA, PSG, FC Barcelona, Arsenal etc. Undoubtedly, all of these have helped in increasing the size of the Indian sports market and attracting attention from corporate and the world at large. Today, sports sponsorship market in Indian touches INR 6,400 Cr, up 164% from INR 2400 Cr back in Yet, 8 years later at the Rio Olympics 2016, our medal tally degraded to one less than what was achieved at Beijing in Why? Let s take a step back. In our obsession with getting gold, are we missing the focus of building a sporty nation before we start counting medals? Should we be asking ourselves - how many are actually playing? Do we have real sports fans? At SportzConsult, we strongly believe in Mass Participation as a critical pillar in the making of a sporting nation. We were founded with the mission of making 100 million play sports. Only when the bottom of the pyramid is strong will we see the top of the pyramid swell. We see validation of our philosophy when sporting giants like NBA and Reliance Foundation invest at grassroot level in order to grow the sport. Over the last few years, we are proud and happy to have provided opportunities to play to more than 3 million Indians. Through this paper, we are happy to present our learnings of the last 14 years for bringing in a sporting revolution. Hope you find it informative! Jitendra Joshi Co-Founder & Director - SportzConsult jitu@sportzconsult.in 5

6 2. The Two Fundamental Pillars of a Sporting Nation Time and again, the question pops up why India is not a sporting nation. But have you ever wondered what does being a sporty nation mean? Does Abhinav Bindra s Gold medal at the Beijing Olympics make India a Shooting Nation? Does the launch of Indian Super League make India a Footballing Nation? For us, the answer is really simple. A sport is successful if there are lots of participants in the sport as well as a lot of fans of the sport at all levels. PARTICIPANTS We need more and more people playing the sport in schools, in neighbourhoods, in academies. Simply enjoying it and playing for fun. Think of the obsession with cricket and the many forms it takes. There is gully cricket. There is book cricket. There is French cricket. If there is no bat, the school notepad comes to rescue. If there is no ball, the silver foil fills in. Lack of a ground does not deter the many enthusiastic participants; they take to Box Cricket. There are the professional rules and then there are the amateur rules. The neighbouring aunty s cribbing does not stop us. We just change the rule to convert a SIXER into an OUT. Many were infamous for breaking glass windows with their aerial shots, but it is only out of those seemingly unruly youngsters that role models like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh were born. 6

7 2. The Two Fundamental Pillars of a Sporting Nation Participants and Fans are the two pillars on which the foundation of a Sporting Nation is built. Why? It creates a sustainable cycle for sporting success. FANS Fans are the second pillar of a sporting nation. Their passion, idiosyncrasies, superstitions and rivalries create conversations and a culture around the sport. The match fixtures and statistics are known by heart. Stadiums, jerseys, history, anthems, etc. are sacred. The workplaces come to a standstill not only when Mahendra Singh Dhoni lifts the World Cup Trophy, but also when a young unknown player is one run short of his triple hundred. When the whole nation turns blue and crowds gather around a small shop to catch a glimpse of the score, you know that the sport is deeply ingrained in the culture. 7

8 2. The Two Fundamental Pillars of a Sporting Nation 8

9 2. The Two Fundamental Pillars of a Sporting Nation Participation in sports is critical at all levels and takes many forms. It may mean simply enjoying a game with friends or family in the house garden, streets or paid turfs. It entails playing at a local sports academy to level up your skills or joining a summer camp to learn a new sport or participating in a local tournament. All of these elements together create a mass participation culture in a sport. Large participation numbers ensure a continuous supply of amateur talent which can then be nurtured into elite players and role models for generations to come. Look at Cricket. It is no less than a religion with 54% of the Indian population playing the sport. There are coaching academies and various competitions in every nook and corner of the country nurturing talent from these enthusiastic participants. It is no wonder that there are as many as 5,438 elite players registered by State Associations on the BCCI Registration System. They play as many as 892 matches across 261 playing days in one domestic season. This large availability of talent ensures that there will always be Virat Kohlis to take up Sachin Tendulkar s place and never leave a Role Model vacuum. Today, Virat Kohli has a Twitter following of 10.7 million. To put this in perspective, this is 33 times more than the only Olympic Gold winner from India, Abhinav Bindra and a 1000 times more than the current darling of Indian sports, P V Sindhu. A large number of fans make the sport commercially viable and are the reason why players, coaches and all the supporting stakeholders make money. BCCI s posts on social media had a combined reach of more than 300 million in As per the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India, total TV viewership of IPL 2016 calculated by impressions stood at 102 Crores. The scale demands professionals such as umpires, statisticians, scorers, video analysts, physiotherapists etc. thus opening up various career options. A fan s passion and wallet makes the sports aspirational for youngsters and viable career option for parents, thus creating a social currency around the sport that further encourages participation at the grassroot level. 9

10 3. KEY DRIVErS FOR CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM FOR A SPORTING NATION TOP DOWN Performance Sports Products Disposable Income Affinity Role Models Viable Sports Products Excellence Centres Coaches Competitions PARTICIPANTS FANS Courses Elite Players Career in Sport Time for Sports Coaches Competitions Nurture Talent Place for Sports Social Currency BOTTOM UP LEGEND Pillars of a Sporting Nation Indicators of a Sporting Nation Drivers of a Sporting Nation 10

11 i. PARTICIPATION Let s ask ourselves how many of us play sports on a regular basis i.e. atleast twice a week? From our experience, this number is not huge. And it tends to drop as people grow older and the work-life balance starts to take a toll. The major barriers to participation are lack of infrastructure, lack of free time, and lack of platforms to play. As a matter of fact, kids intuitively enjoy sports. They love to move, catch, throw and kick. They don t think of a job in sports. They play to have fun. To promote greater participation, all that is required is a little support from parents and schools. This support is mainly required in three forms - PLACE FOR SPORTS Provide people safe maidaans (grounds) to play sports. More the number of grounds available to them, more we will see kids moving. Set up small sports infrastructure exciting kids to step out of homes and play common sports in the open area. We have seen people gravitate around such facilities and it has a ripple effect on building a sports culture. In Singapore, realising the lack of sports facilities for mass participation, several initiatives were proposed for co-sharing of resources. Dual Use School Fields Scheme (DUS) was launched in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Singapore Sports Council to open school fields and halls for public use on weekends and Friday evenings. As a result, sports participation in Singapore increased by 10% across all age groups (38% in 2001 to 48% in 2005). 11

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13 3. KEY DRIVErS FOR CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM FOR A SPORTING NATION TIME FOR SPORTS Setting aside time for sports will initiate more and more kids towards sports. Schools are the best place to dedicate time for introducing a new sport. Sadly, lack of playing time is an ever growing concern among school going children. Kids only have 1-2 PE periods i.e hours in the whole week to spend on sports. As per the 7th Annual Health Survey by EduSports, schools which give more playtime produce fitter kids. The results showed schools which gave more than 3 Physical education periods produced fitter kids and fared better on all fitness parameters. More than Marks for Sports, we should build in Time for Sports. The PE hour should be made a daily affair. It will help to introduce sports to each kid and not just the school team. While in-school programs are ideal for introduction to a sport, after-school play is critical for skill development. South American superstars like Lionel Messi and Neymar are said to have learnt their skills at home during unstructured play on the streets. When it comes to Football, kids in Brazil have played over 10,000 hours by the age of 13 which pretty much means playing 4 hours a day for 10 months in a year from the age of 5. It is no wonder then that in 2010, 67 Brazilians played in the world s premier championship, the Champions League, compared to only 25 Britains and 26 Germans, even though not one Brazilian club participated. 13

14 3. KEY DRIVErS FOR CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM FOR A SPORTING NATION SCHOOLS WHICH GIVE MORE PLAYTIME PRODUCE FITTER KIDS! LEGEND % Healthy 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 71% 67% 69% 53% 55% 45% 79% 69% 64% 63% 3+ PE Periods Less than 3 PE Periods Sprint Capacity Flexibility Lower Body Strength Upper Body Strength Abdominal Strength 0% Fitness Parameters 14

15 3. KEY DRIVErS FOR CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM FOR A SPORTING NATION ADVOCACY We need a behaviour change from padhoge likhoge banoge nawab, kheloge kudoge, hoge kharab to all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. In order to get more kids to play, we need to view it from beyond a career lens. We need to look at sport as a way of spreading 3H i.e. Happiness, promoting Health and fitness and simulating Holistic Education. We need to make it a part of our lifestyle and appreciate it for the many positive attributes it has. Those who have spent time on court will always celebrate the joy of playing together, the moments of fun, the lessons it taught them. Waking up at 5:30 in the morning required no alarms and no constant snoozes from moms when it was for a game outside with friends. Time management was learnt early in life so homework does not interfere with play time. As Brian Lara puts it, Children need sports, even if they are inclined towards academics. Engaging in sports from a young age will ensure physical and mental well-being. Sports will equip kids with the necessary tools to face academic challenges, and provide all-round development. Raahgiri is one excellent initiative that brings forth the joy of playing together. Raahgiri Day is a weekly event that closes city streets to cars to celebrate walking, biking, music-making, and various sporting activities. The enthusiasm among people of all age-groups and walks of life has been infectious. The events and activities on this weekly day out never seem to lack participation. When the organizers anticipated a couple of thousand to turn up on the very first Sunday, 10,000 flocked in. Since then, crowds of 20,000 to 25,000 have set aside their Sunday mornings for a few hours of fitness and fun thronging the Raahgiri roads. 15

16 We need to look at sport as a way of spreading 3H i.e. Happiness, Health and fitness and Holistic Education. 16

17 ii. TALENT Once we have large participation base, the next critical step is to nurture talent from these enthusiastic participants. Coaches and Competitions are the two key drivers for producing talent. AMATEUR COACHES All kids need a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them. - Magic Johnson (Basketball) We need more PE teachers and coaches in schools. Without the presence of good quality coaches, the standard of the game will never improve. For a sport to grow, there is a strong need for both coaches at all levels Enthusiast as well as Elite. We need quality amateur coaches for various sports in schools, clubs and academies. If the sport is able to accentuate this need and supply quality grassroot coaches via optimum trainings and certifications, we will see the emergence of ENTREPRENEUR COACHES. The Western India Football Association is churning out Coach Entrepreneurs in large numbers. It provides adequate training and licenses to aspiring coaches who then run profitable football academies and in turn increase the base of amateur talent in the country. In 3 years, Maharashtra moved from 65 licensed to 2000 licensed coaches plus 1000 grassroot leaders. From this about 75% of them are now employed in schools and/ or are running academies across various districts in Maharashtra. Push for Entrepreneur Coaches is a simple solution in effectively grooming young talent while providing career opportunities in sports at the same time. 17

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19 3. KEY DRIVErS FOR CREATING A SUSTAINABLE ECOSYSTEM FOR A SPORTING NATION COMPETITIONS In general, participation levels in India peak for very few months during the tournament or sports day or similar platforms while the rest of year, the participation levels are low. We need to elongate the time our kids spend on participating in sports. Competitions make playing fun. Competitions provide kids a goal. Competitions inspire regular training. Round the year amateur competitions provide that spark for kids to participate in sports and improve their performance. We need competitions that create good experiences for the kids. Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS), modelled on the uniform amateur college competition structure in the US National Collegiate Amateur Association (NCAA) aims to structure the school and college competitions in India. The pyramidal structure provides kids the motivation to keep training and improving their performance throughout the year. The program is spread over 6-9 months where more than 2400 school and college football teams participate in a threelevel competition structure starting with city level qualifier, city finals and finally the national finals. Year around competitions are required to inspire kids to participate in sports on an ongoing basis. 19

20 The Deutsche Football Association (DFB) alarmed by the unsatisfactory performance of the national football team during the late 90 s and early 00 s, introduced a Talent Development Programme to revive talent. A critical component of this program was to attract new amateur coaches and maintain quality of coaching through variety of ongoing training courses and content. It created age-appropriate training methods e.g. varying systems of play (4 on 4, 5 on 5), field size, goal size, game type (e.g. exhibitions games, recreational games, league) and provided various specialised courses for different aspects of football training e.g. goalkeeper course and sports admin course with greater than 27K participants every year. It also conducted daily visits at amateur clubs and primary schools with 30 vehicles ( DFB Mobile ) to inspire youth coaches to undertake further qualifications and training courses. More than 15,000 events were held since 2009, reaching more than 750,000 people. Furthermore, a variety of e-learning seminars were produced for both coaches and club management volunteers online to offer practical tips and content from DFB coaches, finance and tax experts. The initiative coupled with other support programs for talent development reaped results within 10 years when the Bundesliga managed to double its share of young players; from 8% U-21 footballers playing regularly in 2001 to 16% in The German national team significantly improved its performance at an international level (3rd in 2010 and World Champion in 2014 World Cups) and at the same time fielded the youngest team in both tournaments. 20

21 iii. ELITE PLAYERS Excellence Centres At the elite level, Excellence Centers are required to nurture available talent into top quality players. Why else would 35 of the world s 100 best women golfers come from South Korea a nation with inhospitably cold climate and astronomical green fees? It is because South Korean junior golfers spend three times as much time as American juniors on playing and learning golf. Similarly, in just a few years, Russia has developed from a mediocre tennis nation into one that occupies 25 per cent of the world women s top 40 ranking list because of the dedicated time spent on sports through the year from a very early age. We tend to think that genes play a big role in sports talent development but the reality is quite simple playing and practising more! Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy, PT Usha School of Athletics, Mahesh Bhupathi Tennis Academies, Bhaichung Bhutia Soccer Schools are few of the many Excellence Centres working to produce top talent in their respective sports. Reliance Foundation and DSK Shivajians have created full-fledged residential academies for grooming the best talent in the country from a very young age. Both the sporting and educational needs of the kids are hence satisfied under one roof leading to all-rounded development. Going forward, we expect to see the clubs of the different leagues following suit in order to generate a continuous supply of talent to feed the respective top league. The trend is already apparent if we look at the grassroot programs of Bengaluru FC or Athletico de Kolkata. 21

22 iv. ROLE MODELS Performance All sports need aspirational platforms for the top players to showcase their talent and shine. These are the platforms which turn top players into role models for the generations to come. Undoubtedly, these are platforms with great legacy and a large following. For example, Olympics remain as the ultimate test for most Olympic Sports. The Grand Slams are the platforms to make your mark in Tennis. Playing at the National Basketball Association (NBA) is the dream for all basketball enthusiasts. Sports Products that showcase the athlete performances and bring out their stories and struggles are the next big driver for creating Role Models. Saina s bronze medal at the London Olympics inspired thousands of young women to take up badminton. Hosting of a mega sporting event, setting up of a domestic professional league or popularising an international tournament are some of the examples of Sports Products to create role models that inspire the generations to come and create that elusive Fan required for the sport s sustainability. 22

23 v. FANS Affinity Fans connect by identifying, admiring and emulating the athletes and teams. Even the most disinterested ones are drawn to watch PV Sindhu when she is playing the Gold Medal match at the Olympics. The critical element here is Affinity. Patriotism is the most natural affinity and is evident in case of support of National Teams or National Stars. In case of new Clubs/ Franchises, it takes time to build affinity. Leagues in India currently do not last for more than 2-3 months. There is not much content to consume throughout the year. While commercial and calendar challenges remain, we need to figure out a way to make more content available through various channels. For example, Pro Kabaddi League has already taken a first step by having two seasons in a year instead of one. This experience can be enhanced by using technology. Sports provides a great social currency. The social aspect is big reason why fans connect to sports. It creates bonds that build friendships. The franchises should give content that will increase the social experience. e.g. easy access to content beyond the games such as inside stories, game strategies etc. Build Innovative Membership plan like Community connect Programs. Even in the off-season, connect with the schools and be closer to the fans. Research shows that commitment towards sports positively influences media consumption (β =.54; p <.001). So, a sport with high participation rate is automatically more likely to have more fans. The fan following of the different ISL franchises clearly illustrates this point. The places where it generates highest audience are the place where the sport enjoys high participation. E.g. Goa, Kerala and Kolkata. Even in the case of Hockey, the franchises of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa have seen more fans as the sport is popular in these pockets. Research shows that commitment towards sports positively influences media consumption (β =.54; p <.001). 23

24 vi. CAREERS Sports Courses The success of sport opens up various career opportunities. In a thriving sport, the number of professional athletes is not restricted to just the National Team. A successfully running domestic league or tournament absorbs many professional athletes. It also requires support staff such as coaches, umpires, managers, physiotherapists, video analysts, etc. The ripple effect is great. And the industry will also open up career opportunities in ancillary roles such as photojournalism, sports marketing, event management etc. 24

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26 4. Approach to A Sporting Nation Top Down or Bottom Up? We believe bottom up is the ideal approach for building a sustainable ecosystem for a sporting nation. At the very start, we need huge steps at the grassroot level. These broadly include Time for Sports, Place for Sports, Coaches and Competitions. If we have the base of Participation ready, we would have successfully set up the groundwork for creating a culture of sports in the country. We have seen earlier that research shows commitment towards sports positively influences media consumption. The sports that have the Participation, Talent and Role Models with the right drivers of Time for Sports, Place for Sports, Social Currency, Coaches and Competitions at a certain scale can commercialise the sport through a quality Sports Product in a sustainable way. On the other hand, a Top Down approach focuses on building fans. The assumption here is that watching quality top level competition and inspiring performances from best of the athletes will inspire people to take up sports as participants. There is also research support to it. As per the research conducted by EventImpacts, 67% of live spectators at the major sporting events and 28% of the television viewers studied felt inspired to participate or participate more frequently in sport as a result of their attendance at that event. A quality sports product, be it a sporting league or a mega event like the Olympic Games has an emotional appeal for the fans. It provides Inspiration / Role models / Heroes / and generates love for the sport. There is no doubt in the powerful ability of major events and role models to inspire young people to participate in sports. Top Down works in a PULL manner. More fans also provide more commercialisation opportunity and hence more career opportunities, probably also leading to more support from parents and schools. However, this is where it stops since the cycle beyond this also needs a lot of PUSH. The ability of the Top Down approach to build a sustainable sporting ecosystem will be limited till a critical mass of Participation is achieved. The sports that have the Participation, Talent and Role Models with the right drivers of Time for Sports, Place for Sports, Social Currency, Coaches and Competitions at a certain scale can commercialise the sport through a quality Sports Product in a sustainable way. 26

27 5. A COMPREHENSIVE ROADMAP FOR A SPORTING NATION The next question that comes to mind is HOW do we go about it? How do we accelerate the drivers of sports development? Below is the five-step approach that we believe is required to stir up a Bottom-Up revolution Introduce the sport to a large number of kids in a fun manner 1 2 Create a large supply of quality grass-root coaches Create after-school platforms for skill development 3 Create fun competitions for all age-groups Scout and groom elite talent 5 27

28 5. A COMPREHENSIVE ROADMAP FOR A SPORTING NATION Step 1 : Introduce the sport to a large number of kids in a fun manner Create simple learning drills to initiate kids towards sports. Ensure that sessions are fun and informal with a mix of fun match play and relaxed coaching. In order to reach out to such a large number of kids in an institutional manner, Schools are an ideal partner. The reasons are quite intuitive. 1. For the organizer, school is a convenient channel to easily disseminate information to kids and parents at large. 2. The reach extends to the whole universe of kids instead of only those already interested in the sport. 3. The trainers are easily available for running the program if the right incentives are provided. 4. From the parents point of view, it removes the challenge of managing logistics and ensuring kids safety. Step 2 : Create a large supply of quality grass-root coaches Invest in developing grass-root coaches who are the core drivers for sports skill development. Create age-appropriate training methods e.g. varying systems of play (4 on 4, 5 on 5), field size, goal size, game type (e.g. exhibitions games, recreational games, league) and train young coaches on the same. Establish structured coaching license system for systematic development of grass-root coaching in large volumes. Leverage digital channels to provide easy access to learning material for one and all. Promote active participation of regional associations to drive participation and success rate of courses. Attract new coaches by promoting the concept of Coach Entrepreneurs and providing a gateway to career opportunities. Step 3 : Create after-school platforms for skill development Create avenues for kids to participate in sports during after-school hours. Safe playgrounds, academies, sports clubs, community centres, etc. are needed to keep the children moving. Ensure all new housing societies and real estate complexes have optimum level of available sporting infrastructure. Step 4 : Create fun competitions for all age-groups Provide ample additional competitive playing opportunities to kids. Ensure that the kids have a great experience at these competitions to keep their enthusiasm high. Innovate with match formats, play rules, sporting equipment to provide more playing opportunities and keep them engaged. Gratify them appropriately to inspire them to keep playing. Step 5 : Scout and groom elite talent Establish excellence centres to train upcoming talent with the best-in-class of coaching methods and training infrastructure. Focus on their all-round development by providing them quality academic education in parallel. 28

29 The Jr. NBA program provides one such comprehensive approach for exponentially growing the base of players at the grassroot level and continuously providing them the right support to move up the sports cycle. It is designed on the Bottom Up principles of increasing support for participation, developing coaches and providing competitive platforms. It has worked in other countries and now a similar program is being done in India. Let s see how. 1. Introduce the sport to a large number of kids in a fun manner The Jr. NBA program is a 6-8 weeks program with different modules teaching kids the basics of basketball. It targeted to reach 3.5 million kids across 3555 schools in 17 cities. This is done by integrating the program within the PE hour of the school. Hence, the program is successful in breaking down the time barrier and ensuring that all the school kids are exposed to the sport. 2. Create a large supply of quality grass-root coaches NBA conducts Train-the-trainer programs for almost 3000 PE teachers. The PE teachers are provided standardized curriculum to teach and are trained on how to introduce the sport to the kids. Age appropriate sessions are created. For example, 3rd and 4th standard kids are only taught motor skills while 6th and 7th standard kids are provided basic game skills. 3. Create fun competitions for all age-groups NBA organizes competitions for various age groups in the form of Weekend Festivals. School teams from various age groups compete in fun filled competitions supervised by international NBA coaches. NBA also has a parallel ACG Jump tournament for the elite players. It is a nationwide talent hunt organized in 6 cities. The tournament culminates in a 3-day National finals, where 40 of the most talented kids in India are put through drills and match play competitions. 4. Scout and groom elite talent The top 24 boys are given full Scholarships to NBA s first Basketball Academy in India hence nurturing elite talent who will one day become role models for the rest. * For additional successful examples from across the world, please refer to the Appendix. 29

30 6. Viable Business Models For Accelerating Sports Drivers Where should the investment come from for accelerating the drivers of success at each step? The good news is that there are plenty of examples from across the globe that investment in sports need not be for passion alone. Moreover, the demand for amateur sporting platforms is on the rise with increasing inclination to spend on sports and fitness. We estimate that the total amateur participative market (not including merchandise and equipment) stands at about INR 1200 crores in the top 8 cities in India. There are clearly opportunities to create viable business models in amateur sports. The total amateur participative market in India is estimated to be INR 1200 Cr. AMATEUR SPORTS MARKET IN TOP 8 CITIES, BY SPORT Source: SportzConsult Estimate

31 6. Viable Business Models For Accelerating Sports Drivers AMATEUR SPORTS MARKET IN TOP 8 CITIES, BY TYPE OF SPEND Source: SportzConsult Estimate 2017 Various sports management companies are tackling the issue of Place for Sports while running a successful business by creating quality turfs for different sports. We estimate the total spend on turf/ court booking for recreational sports in top 8 Indian cities to be around INR 430 crores presently. Players having put their buck in creating neighbourhood sports infrastructure are certain to benefit in the long run. Online venue aggregators like BookMySport, Athletto, GoSporto are also modelled to exploit the increasing demand for sports infrastructure. They are developed considering a simple insight that majority of the neighbourhood sports facilities are underutilised. These organisations work as online aggregators of all the nearby sports facilities, simplifying the ease of access. The platforms help in both the discovery as well as booking of the sports facilities. It is a win-win for all as 1) sports enthusiasts easily find a place to play, 2) facility owners are able to monetise their assets better and 3) the business makes money by charging a service fee. Isn t that simple and genius? Similarly, few sports management companies are running various programs to integrate sports into the physical education in schools. The Jr. NBA program has introduced basketball to 3.5 million kids across 3555 schools in 17 cities. 31

32 6. Viable Business Models For Accelerating Sports Drivers Saksham, the self defense program of the Government of Rajasthan is teaching self defense with various martial arts techniques from sports such as Karate, Judo etc. to 1.5 lakh girls in 650+ schools. The Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) has created a uniform, structured school and college competition structure for 2400 teams from 1900 institutions across India. Companies such as EduSports are running structured age-appropriate PE curriculums in schools. Even for the non glitzy area of Amateur Coaches, we have seen exemplary work done by the Western India Football Assocation. It is churning out Coach Entrepreneurs who after receiving adequate training and licenses from WIFA are running profitable football academies and in turn increasing the base of amateur talent in the country. In 3 years, Maharashtra moved from 65 licensed to 2000 licensed coaches plus 1000 grassroot leaders. From this about 75% of them are now employed in schools and/or are running academies across various districts in Maharashtra. We have even seen the concept of Entrepreneur Coaches flourish for less popular sports such as Taekwando and Karate. Many parents are willing to spend INR 1000 per month and upwards to train their kids in these sports, providing a livelihood to the licensed trainers and increasing the base of participation in the sport. Examples of existing business models around amateur sports 32

33 If the penetration of a sport in a Class increases over the years, we can safely establish that we are on our way to a real movement. 33

34 7. CONCLUSION Growing a sport in a country is a multi-pronged challenge and has no immediate solution. It is clear that it requires a longterm vision and continuous investment in the initial years. Several initiatives have been undertaken to help grow sports in the country. But how do we know that the limited resources are being spent well? How do we know that we are making progress? The Bottom-Up approach is the sustainable answer to sports development. Bigger the base of Participants at the ground level, higher the likelihood of creating Fans and building a cyclical sporting ecosystem. Measuring participation in itself can be a daunting challenge, made simple if we look at the simple unit of a School Class. The fact that Cricket is way ahead in the sports development curve can be established by a simple guesstimate of how many kids in a class play Cricket v/s other sports. If the penetration of a sport in a Class increases over the years, we can safely establish that we are on our way to a real movement. span across 9-10 months in a year providing an ongoing platform for engagement with the sport. The sustainable answer to developing a sporting nation is simply to promote mass participation in the sport. There are five major drivers - Place for Sports, Time for Sports, Social Currency, Coaches and Competitions to trigger a mass participation movement. In contradiction to popular belief, successful business models EXIST to accelerate these drivers. There are innovative examples from India and abroad of entrepreneurs and sports professionals working to create value for sports while running a viable business. For brands, especially those with school kids as their target audience, push for sports development is a phenomenal opportunity to reach their prized target audience while generating significant goodwill for the brand. From an elite talent development point of view, the two key things that distinguish a developing sports market from a developed sports market is the 1) Age for Sports Introduction and the 2) Duration of Time spent on Sports. Kids in Brazil for example, in general, are known to have spent 10,000 hours playing with football even before they are started to groom for skill development. Amateur competitions in such markets 34

35 APPENDIX References Additional Reading Material A look back at Singapore s sports development in the last 10 years BCCI Annual Report Boss How Chinese Football Can Develop DFB Talent Development Program EduSports 7th Annual Health Survey Jr. NBA Raahgiri a success, but challenges remain Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) The inspirational effect of major sporting events 3X3 Planet BWF Shuttle Time Get Inspired: How to get into Tennis Gold Mine Effect: Crack the Secrets of High Performance Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, by Geoff Colvin The Danish Club Structure A Very Good Idea 35

36 SportzConsult, India s No.1 amateur sports management company was launched in 2003 with a mission to make India a sporty nation. Over the last 14 years, we have worked with 300+ most well-known Brands, Corporates, Leagues, Franchises, Federations and Associations such as Coca-Cola, Nike, Red Bull, Adidas, Hero, BBC, IMG, etc. and delivered more than 500 events, creating opportunities to play for more than three million people every year. Recently, Jitendra Joshi, the Co-founder and Director of SportzConsult won the prestigious Chanakya Award for Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 at PRCI 11th Global PR Conclave. The award came in as a recognition of the efforts and achievements towards grassroots sports development in India. Where to find us Mumbai Office : 1101, Real Tech Park, Sector 30A, Vashi, Navi Mumbai Bengaluru Office : No. 201, 2nd Floor, Brigade Manae Court No 111, Industrial Layout, Koramangala, Bengaluru Delhi Office : 201, Bhanot House, Gulmohar Commercial Complex, Balbir Saxena Marg, Yusuf Sarai, New Delhi Contact Us Yogesh Shanbhag yogesh@sportzconsult.in Rajesh Kumar S R rajesh@sportzconsult.in Nupur Gupta nupur.gupta@sportzconsult.in 36

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