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Hero ISL League Secretary Namrata Chatterjee has broken many glass ceilings, perhaps without even realizing it.
From giving up a high-paying job in a prestigious law firm to working in the male-dominated sports industry and from giving guest lectures to championing the cause of gender inclusivity in the workplace, Ms Chatterjee has traversed a unique journey.
Falling in love with football
Ms Chatterjee has her family to thank for her decision to work in sports. Her father was a cricket player in college, so cricket was the sport Ms Chatterjee grew up watching.
She told Sportskeeda in an exclusive interaction:
“But then, in 2002, my cousins were over during the FIFA World Cup, and they were die-hard football fans. They propelled me towards following football."
From lawyer to FIFA Master
After completing her schooling in Delhi, Ms Chatterjee followed in her parents’ and elder sister’s footsteps, pursuing a law degree.
By her third year at National Law University-Jodhpur, her internships with Mr Nandan Kamath and (Retd). Justice Mukul Mudgal piqued her interest in the niche field of sports law.
But Ms Chatterjee chose to take the conventional route, joining a prestigious Tier 1 law firm.
“There wasn’t enough work-life balance. There were several days I wouldn’t come back home till the wee hours of the morning. So then I was like, ‘I have tried this out. I don’t think it’s working out. Maybe now it’s time to actually explore sports law, which I wanted to initially but because of getting the campus placement, I didn’t.’ So I decided to do the [FIFA] Master course first.”
Europe to Malaysia
Having been offered a full tuition waiver scholarship, it was a straightforward decision for Ms Chatterjee to enroll in the FIFA Master course instead of pursuing conventional Sports Law LLMs.
Organized by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), FIFA Master combines courses in Management, Law, and Humanities of Sport, taking its students across three European countries. Adeptly leveraging its global alumni network, post her graduation in 2016, Ms Chatterjee headed eastwards to work with the Asian Football Confederation as its Legal Counsel.
But it was just a matter of time before her return to India.
“I needed new challenges, stayed in Malaysia alone, and missed my family and friends back home. So it felt right to return to India and take things forward from here.”
Guest lecturer at Jindal Global Law School
With the pandemic still a few months away, a former law firm colleague of Ms Chatterjee presented her with a unique opportunity. She said:
“That was the very first time I was probably giving a lecture to a bunch of college students.”
Ms Chatterjee highlighted the interactiveness of the sessions, which included lively debates on the modality of red and yellow cards and the appropriate disciplinary action to be taken when players put out racial comments on social media.
Pointing out the need for an integrated Master’s course that is more “holistic,” Ms Chatterjee said:
“Sports management courses [in India] don’t necessarily include sports law in their curriculum and give it the importance they should. Probably even sports law LLMs or sports law Masters don’t give sports management [subjects] the due importance.”
Hero ISL League Secretary
It was her FIFA Master network that would again come to her aid, notifying Ms Namrata of a vacancy in the Hero Indian Super League (Hero ISL).
The dynamic role at Football Sports Development Ltd (FSDL) – which operates Hero ISL – sees her handling everything from the legal, governance, disciplinary and administrative aspects involved in operationalizing a full-fledged professional sporting league.
Regarding working in Hero ISL, what stands out for Ms Chatterjee is its inclusivity.
“Being a woman, I have never felt like I have been treated differently than any male colleague working here [in Hero ISL].”
Women in Indian sports industry
The number of women professionals in the Indian sports industry has visibly grown in recent years. But Ms Chatterjee acknowledges that there’s still a long way to go in achieving gender parity.
“When I’ve had to deal with external parties in this ecosystem, it’s not always been easy. There have been times when I would’ve been the one leading the discussion on a particular matter, but some questions or clarifications would then be directed at the men in the room. So I’ve faced those little things here and there, but I’ve probably been luckier overall.”
Conscious of a need to encourage other women to enter the sports industry, particularly in the legal profession, Ms Chatterjee has been organizing conferences, talks, and guest lectures in her capacity as the regional coordinator for India for Women in Sports Law (WISLaw).
“There are many women who are probably equally talented and even better than some of the established male sports lawyers out there. But they’ve just not been given that opportunity.”
‘Do it for the right reasons’
Having successfully navigated the contrasting worlds of pro football [through Hero ISL], academia, law, and management, Ms Chatterjee has telling words of advice for anyone looking to join the sports industry.
“People think working in sports is very glamorous. But that spotlight can also blind you. So it’s important to understand that it’s a lot of hard work [and] challenges. So when you want to do this, be ready to do it for the right reasons, contribute to sports, develop it, and put your heart and soul into it.”
Safe to say Ms Chatterjee has a lot more to give to the football world.
