The Sports Movement Conference: Learnings & Highlights

Our team at India On Track organized The Sports Movement Conference in Delhi last week. It was the 4th edition of India’s premier sports conference and networking event and it was a success. It included everything that one would hope for when attending a sports conference: high-profile speakers, engaging panel discussions and a cohort of influential delegates who remained at the event throughout the day. Also, the participation of Premier League, Major League Baseball, UNESCO, Portuguese FA, Australian High Commission, Chelsea FC, Borussia Dortmund and other international organizations led to interesting conversations around how to connect the East and West via sport. And, of course, it was great to have elite sportspersons Yuvraj Singh, Dipa Karmaker, Anjum Moudgil, Tania Sachdev and Aditi Chauhan involved as speakers and attendees.

As I’ve written about the accolades of this conference multiple times in the past, I’ll focus this post on sharing some key learnings and notable highlights from the day-long event.

Key Learnings
Let the Theme Drive the Programme: All ‘Movement’ conferences succeed because we choose a timely & relevant theme and ensure that the conference programme aligns with theme from top to bottom which decisions around session topics, speakers, moderators, partners, etc.... While this seems like common sense, it’s astounding to see how many sports conferences in India are built around whose available to speak vs meaningful dialogue important topics. This year the theme was: ‘India’s Journey to Becoming a Global Sports Hub.’

Pull People Towards the Conference: Thanks to past success with delivering world class events, a high profile list partners, a solid database and daily chatter on social media, The Movement becomes a conference that people desire to attend.  This transforms the whole experience leading up to and during the event as it feels like more of an exclusive networking party versus an obligatory check in.  

Make People Feel at Home: You can learn a lot from Indian weddings. I’ve been to some weddings where it’s clear that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent on the venue, decorations, outfits, open bar, etc… however the experience for me and most of the attendees is forgettable at best. Then there are more humble weddings which leave a lasting impact on our hearts and our heads, why? Because all the attendees were made to feel at home.  At Movement, we do the same, go to great lengths to ensure each person that attends is acknowledged and appreciated for their presence.

Notable Highlights

Building a Sustainable Ecosystem Panel: I loved this panel for 2 reasons: first because I truly believe that the only way that sport will thrive in India is if we create sustainable properties, second, because the panel was made up of a few of the individuals who I most respect within the Indian sports industry. Actually, if you took all of the panelists and the moderator (IOT CEO Vivek Sethia), you would have around 120 years of sports management experience sitting on stage.

Relevant International Presence: It is not unusual to have foreigners representing international sports organizations speak at Indian sports industry conferences.  What surprisingly is unusual is when the foreigners share information based on genuine research, experience and India focused objective setting exercises.  On that note, it was refreshing to hear Premier League’s Head of International, Kate Hodgkinson, Premier League’s Head of Digital, Martin Axford, Chelsea FC’s Fan Engagement Lead, Jon Scammell and Major League Baseball’s Business Development Head for India, Ryo Takahashi, and LaLiga’s India Technical Head, Javier Cabrera, discuss their respective thoughts on the Indian market.   

GISB Progression Tracker from Concept to Reality: For those who regularly read this blog, you will know that it was The Football Movement Conference in 2018 that we communicated our intention to create an industry designed Sports Management Institute. Now 1.5 years later, GISB is prominently placed next to the Premier League and our stall becomes a place to meet our 2018/19 batch students, interact with GISB management & faculty and watch program highlights.

Overall, I’m proud of our entire team at India On Track for furthering the conversation around sport, sustainability and impact through delivering another quality sports conference and networking event.  







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