CII Scorecard

The other day I attended the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) annual sports conference called “Scorecard.” It took place at Le Meridian in Delhi, a massive 5 star hotel near India Gate which I can’t quite tell if I like or not. Actually everything about it is perfect to host or attend a conference, which is kind of why it somewhat repels me.  Hard to explain, but anyone reading this would know what I’m talking about if they ever visit this place. 

Our Managing Director, Sukhvinder Singh, sits on the CII Sports Committee and hence Libero Sports takes on an active role with organizing this event. Within and even slightly outside of the scope of our role, we make best efforts to shape and build the profile of the football component of the conference.  Thankfully, CII trusts our recommendation and each year, creates a specific panel to discuss the beautiful game, something which is offered for no other sport including cricket. 

This year’s football session was entitled, “Making Football a Way of Life,” and on the panel were AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das, IYSA Trustee Arup Das, President, Star Sports Nitin Kukreja, General Secretary, Confederation of African Football Hicham El Amrani and CEO, NorthEast United FC Rahul Patil.  It was moderated by our MD Sukhvinder Singh.   

The panel was strong and the discussion quite interesting and positive.  While from an outsider perspective, it’s easy to say that the state of Indian football has not evolved over the years, I must say that the quality of speakers and conversations around football at these types of conferences certainly has.  Thankfully gone are the days where we would be subjected to listening to 5 unnecessarily arrogant, disgruntled football administrators spewing and justifying crap to a room full of 25 other disgruntled football administrators. Now at least there are strong, interesting football properties like the ISL and IYSA and a strong broadcaster investing heavily into football like Star Sports to offer some substance to discuss, debate and build upon. 

Overall CII Scorecard was a success. Not just for CII but for Libero Sports and our clients The Indian Air Force.  Libero Sports were given fantastic exposure as “Football Partner” for the conference and we even donated 500 Libero Sports branded footballs for the delegates. Even more exciting, was the fact that we were able to create the opportunity for our client, The Indian Air Force, to showcase their landmark property, The Subroto Cup to the sports and business community through a trophy unveiling and presentation. 

Panelists for football session organised by Libero Sports

Indian Air Force unveiling 2015 Subroto Cup trophy

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