Sports must grow as industry, says Vijay Goel

Vijay Goel

“We need broadbasing of sports, and excellence in sports – these are the twin goals of the Sports Ministry. Sports has to grow as an industry, with development of adequate infrastructure, sports science, sports medicine, coaching, event management, broadcasting.

“Through Khelo India, we are awarding 1000 scholarships of 1 lakh every year to deserving sportspersons, to discover and grow potential from the grassroots,” said Mr Vijay Goel, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs (I/C).

CII in association with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports hosted the third annual ‘CII Scorecard 2017’, bringing together sport policymakers, stakeholders and dignitaries on the opportunities and future of the Sports Sector.

“Sports excellence centres, such as the one in Manipur, are a starting point for sports skill development so that we can encourage trained coaches and physical instructors. The larger change has to be in mindsets. We need to educate parents to instill in children the value of sports,” said Mr Jitender Singh, Minister of State.

“We need safe playing spaces, trained coaches, and sports to be integrated into core-curriculum of education and not just extra-curricular activities. Whether it is inclusive development, gender equality or tapping grassroot potential, we need to collaborate to take strides in sports.” stated Mr Injeti Srinivas, Secretary, Sports.

“The share of public and private sector involvement in sports is limited at the moment. There is a need for partnership expansion for more impact,” said Mr Ratan Watal, Principal Advisor, Social Space, NITI Aayog.

“For an industry that had possibly nothing to offer 5 years ago, sports in India is seeing a massive surge today. The ISL final had a 60,000 strong stadium packed 2 hours before the match; Young India is giving sports a new lease of life. But the challenges are many.

“How can we ensure that 30 crore Indian children get to play one hour of sports every day? This is what is going to transform sports in the country,” said Mr Sanjay Gupta, Chairman, CII National Committee for Sports.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, said, “Our main agenda in sports is to make India play, to create excitement around sports and offer a unique platform for corporates and entrepreneurs to come together to network and form collaborations with management organizations, educational institutes, infrastructure companies, marketing, advertising, brand managers, and manufacturers in the Sports domain.”

Sessions included an inaugural on partnering to Make India Play, followed by moderated panel discussions on ‘sports as a holistic tool for social inclusion and holistic development’, ‘corporate philanthropy and sport’, ‘sports education in schools’ and a special session with Minister Jitender Singh on ‘the power of sports to realise human potential.’

Scorecard 2017 set the agenda for sports in school curriculum and ways to evangelise sports at the grassroots level. The conference saw the release of Reports on Mapping of Sports in Maharashtra with GroupM, Opportunities for CSR funding in Sports with Sattva Consulting, and a whitepaper on establishing national curriculum standards for sports curriculum in India with Sportsseed.

The conference also launched a one-of-a-kind platform bringing together corporates, schools, service providers and CSR and in order to establish a structured programme for sports in government and aided schools.

Edited by Staff Editor