Respect & Relationships are Earned

I’ve been attending a lot more sports conferences and events these past few weeks and I’m constantly reminded of one thing: I’m relatively unknown in the Indian soccer world. During my final few years at MLS I knew a lot of people in the US soccer industry and a lot of people knew me. Most meetings or conferences were reunions with friends and I never had to talk about what I’ve done in the past.
I’m in a whole new environment now and am just an unfamiliar face in the crowd. At first it was frustrating, but then this past Sunday at the PFAI awards my attitude completely changed. I realized that I don’t want to be known or respected because I built and executed some grassroots programs in the US. I want to be respected in India because I actually have made a difference in this country. I need to show results to get results.

This whole experience has been quite humbling, but I’m thoroughly excited to watch these strangers of the Indian sports landscape turn into peers and then friends over time.


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