Live India, Love Football

For the past 30 years, football has not only been my favorite activity, it has served as my passion, my profession and my access to experience the world.   I have deep gratitude to existence for wiring my internal software in a way which allows me to enjoy and excel at this game both on and off the pitch.   Now I feel that I’m entering a new phase in my life. Maybe I’m expanding, maybe I’m evolving, maybe I’m just open to something new.   Those who have been reading this blog over the years would know that sometime around early 2011 I became interested in exploring spiritual aspects of life through prayer, yoga, meditation and personal growth. This search continued over the past few years and has created a gateway into the mystique, a dimension where only time and space exist.   Now I’ve arrived at this extraordinary crossroad where on one side I see the enriching and always exciting world of sport and on the other side I see a blissful path towards self-gr...

The other day I was invited to Sagar School in Rajasthan to serve as the “Chief Guest” for the students’ inter-house athletics competition.     I happily accepted as it’s hard to refuse the intriguing combination of an Indian road trip and speaking to hundreds of youth about sports.   I roped in two of my colleagues to come with me as roadtrips are certainly more fun with others and we made the couple hour journey to the Alwar district of Rajasthan. Now I must say that Sagar School is not just any school, it’s a 180 acre resort tucked in the middle of nowhere housing around 400 students and staff who have access to some of the most incredible infrastructure in the Indian education system. Ok, so back to the title of this post. Being “Chief Guest” at an Indian school function is definitely something that everyone must experience.   As “Chief Guest” you are treated with an extraordinary amount of respect, it’s almost embarrassing at times.   They send a ...

For those of you who actually read this blog, you will know that one of my favorite non-football trips to make is to the Nisarga ashram in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.   I typically make the overnight train journey to this little piece of heaven two times a year and fully unwind with the support of guided meditations, enlightening discourse, nature walks, organic food and beautiful people from all over the world.                                         So last week I was at the ashram fully immersed in Himalayan bliss when I find out that I am meant to present to the AFC Medical Committee at the Indian Football Federation House the day before I was scheduled to return to Delhi. Although my immediate thought was to humbly request one of my colleagues to deliver the presentation on my behalf, I quickly dismissed that thought when I realized how great of an opportun...

The Indian Super League (ISL), a concept which has been discussed at length for the past three years, has finally arrived. And, although it’s true that this property remained in the minds and mouths of IMG-Reliance executives in Mumbai and London for far too long, I must say that I’m pleasantly surprised with what the league office staff have been able to put together over the past few months.   Coming from my Major League Soccer days, I have a decent sense of all the different moving parts required to organize a quality professional football league, a task which is exponentially harder in a country like India where systems and processes are merely good ideas and far from reality. In spite of all odds, ISL has successfully launched with most of the necessary elements in place to support the development of a sustainable league: ownership with deep pockets, strong broadcast partner, clear brand identity, robust marketing plan, family of partners and rosters filled with a mix of rec...

One of my friends in the industry, Shikhar Malhotra, invited me to his house yesterday evening for dinner and drinks.  It wasn't just any house nor was just any dinner. Shikhar is the son-in-law of Indian mogul Shiv Nadar who is most known for creating HCL, a massive technology company and establishing the Shiv Nadar Foundation, one of India's largest non-profit organisations.  Shikhar is an executive with HCL and a trustee with the Shiv Nadar Foundation and happens to love football which is how we have cross paths many times over the past few years.   Given that Shikhar loves football and that his school has recently tied up with french club Paris Saint Germain, he went ahead and invited Portuguese and PSG legend Pauleta who was in town for a few days on behalf of his former club. In addition to being one of the highest goal scorers in PSG history, Pauleta represented Portugal in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups scoring a hat trick against Poland in 2002.   ...

I'm happy to post that Libero Sports India has been named a finalist for the 2014 Football Business Awards.  This is the first time that an India based organisation has been shortlisted for this prestigious award.  I'm really grateful for this recognition and proud of my entire team for creating enough small and big wins in the often times complex Indian football industry to earn the respect of the global football community. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge November 6, 2014. Fingers crossed. Here is a link to an article in Goal.com about the nomination: http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/136/india/2014/09/18/5114887/libero-sports-india-shortlisted-for-the-football-business-awards-

I’ve attended many parties in my life, all across the globe.   And the one thing that I can confidently say is that it feels damn good to be the most popular, desired person at the party.   The experience is just completely different when this is the case: people approach you, conversations seem to flow, you get introduced to friends of friends of friends, you get invited to multiple after-parties and you never find yourself standing alone in the corner trying to look busy checking Facebook updates.   These are the types of parties that you never want to end and somehow leave with more energy than when you first arrived. The 2014 Soccerex Global Convention turned out to be one of these types of parties for the FICCI-Libero Sports Indian delegation.   Our delegation started the trip with private tours of Melwood and Anfield, a once in a lifetime experience for any fan of the beautiful game.   Liverpool FC management then treated us to a traditional English ...