Meeting with a Mentor in India: 12 Years in the Making

I’ve been blessed with a few mentors that have guided, supported and inspired me throughout my professional career. These are people that have helped me grow within the sports industry - pushed me to think bigger, held me accountable to my word, nurtured my talents and were always there when I needed some advice.  Most of my mentors have been previous bosses at MLS, Dentsu and Libero Sports who I interacted with on an almost daily basis which ensured that I was always refining myself as a professional in the sports industry.  However, one person who I consider a mentor and has had a tremendous impact on my life is someone that I only interact with 1-2 times a year. This is current US Soccer President and FIFA Executive Committee member Sunil Gulati.

I had known about Sunil since I joined MLS in 2003 as he was then the President of Kraft Soccer properties which owned the New England Revolution.  Back then I was quite fascinated with Sunil as it seemed like everyone in the industry, including all senior management at MLS, highly respected him and for the fact that he was the only other Indian I knew working in professional soccer in the US at the time.  

The first time I interacted with him was in 2006 at the US Youth Soccer Convention.  He had recently been elected President of US Soccer, a position that he still holds today, and I felt that I had to meet him and introduce myself.  I was 25, ambitious and confident so when I saw him walking down the exhibition hall on his own I quickly ran up to him and introduced myself.  He seemed to recognize me as he visited the MLS League Office many times and there weren’t many other Indians around the office back then.  He asked me, “How are you Neel?” I answered with a quick, “I’m fine. Sunil, I would like to go to India and work in Soccer some day, can you help?” He seemed a bit shocked by my response, but being the professional that he is he replied with, “What would you like to do over there?” I answered with a well thought out, “I’m not sure.” He replied, “When you come up with a plan then visit my office and we can discuss it.” That was the end of our conversation. I simply walked back to the MLS stall and just stared into space for awhile wondering why I would use my few minutes with the newly elected US Soccer President to speak about India, a country I’d never even been to. 

Fast forward to September 2007 and I found myself booking tickets to fly to India on my own during the Christmas holiday to learn more about the country where my parents spent the first half of their lives.  The day after I booked the flight I was called to Queens by my friend Luis Montoya to pass out awards during the graduation of the summer youth training program that he runs.  Although exhausted from a long day of work, I hopped on the 7 train and headed out to Flushing Meadows to attend the event.  Just as the ceremony was about to start, I see Sunil walking over to the stage and I can’t believe the timing.  While embarrassed that I never put an “India plan” together as a follow up to our 2006 conversation, I was excited to tell him that just the day before I had booked tickets to fly to India for the first time.  As luck would have it, he was excited to see me as well as I had recently did him a favor at the FC Barcelona v NY Red Bulls match when I ensured his son met Ronaldinho before the game, an interaction which ended up as an enlarged picture included on one of the front pages of the current month’s Sports Illustrated magazine, quickly making his son the most popular boy in his school.  

After the event, he asked if I wanted to ride back to Manhattan with him and I happily accepted.  In the car, I shared the fact that I would be travelling to India in a few months and wanted to meet as many people as I could in the soccer industry over there.  He said that he could get me a meeting with the General Secretary of the All India Football Federation and my heart leaped into my mouth and all I could do was thank him profusely as we rode along the Grand Central Parkway until he finally dropped me off at an Upper East Side restaurant where I was meeting some friends.  

That meeting with the AIFF General Secretary did happen at the Federation House in Delhi in December of the same year only a couple hours after I arrived in India for my first time.  Post that first visit, I travelled to India again in 2008 and, after many meetings with industry stakeholders across the country,  finally put my “India plan” together which I shared with Sunil prior to moving to Delhi in 2009.  In that meeting which took place during my last few months living in the US, he offered his full support of my mission to impact and grow the Indian soccer industry. Unlike our first meeting in 2006, this time I walked away with my head held high and a massive smile on my face.

Over the past 8 years of living in India, I’ve rarely reached out to Sunil for support or guidance but the times I have, his advice has been spot on. I can clearly remember a sleepless night in a Mumbai hotel in 2011 when I had to decide whether or not to take a high profile industry position offered to me and I reached out to him over the phone and his suggestions ended up saving me from making a terrible decision.  And each year when I’m back in the US, I make it a point to meet and update him on my India life and projects and his words of encouragement do wonders for my confidence and excitement for the life that I’ve chosen for myself. 

Each of those meetings were always in his office near Columbia University in Manhattan or on the sidelines of the MLS All-Star Game in whichever city it is hosted.  But last Friday we had the opportunity to meet in India, the place that has been the primary topic of all our conversations since 2006.  Sunil happened to be in Mumbai for the 2017 U17 FIFA World Cup draw and fortunately my flight back to India after 3 weeks with family in the US landed in Mumbai on the day of the draw. 

So even while being severely jet-lagged and disoriented (which always happens when I return to India from the US) I put myself together and made it to the Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai for afternoon tea with Sunil.  It was wonderful seeing him, especially in my home country and we had an enjoyable conversation mainly about teaching, which happens to be his primary profession (Columbia University Economics Professor) and something that I’m deeply passionate about.

After tea, my wife Avantika and I hopped into a taxi and drove 5 hours through heavy Monsoon rains to finally get back to our home in Pune. Although exhausted, I was happy that we were safe and that the first person who I met upon my return to India after three extraordinary weeks in the US, was one of the highest profile people in global football who happens to have played a critical role in my journey to this country.     

* Somehow I don't have any pictures when Sunil and I are together as I guess I always forget or feel too silly to ask when we meet