Live India, Love Football

Several years ago, in 2014, I attended my first-ever Literature festival (‘Lit Fest’). It was the renowned Jaipur Literature Festival, and it was overwhelming and exhilarating. Thousands of people spread out across a massive garden venue, imbibing knowledge, networking, flirting, drinking, eating or furiously running to catch a session before it ends. It felt a bit like Lollapalooza for cool nerds.  After two days of attending countless talks, I was hooked. I was exhausted. I was inspired.   On the long drive back to my home in Delhi from Jaipur, I imagined what it would be like to be one of the festival speakers. To get flown into Jaipur by the festival organisers. To chill in the speakers' lounge drinking white wine and discussing all things life with some of the brightest minds and talented writers in the country and abroad. To sit on stage and speak about my book, my life, my passions in front of hundreds of people in attendance. To see queues of people lining up to b...

Time flies. It feels like just yesterday Gaurav Modwel and I were standing in the lobby of the St. Regis Hotel in Mumbai, talking about how sports management education in the country needs a drastic improvement. That was February 2017. It is now November 2022, and we have not only successfully established India’s first industry-designed sports management education institute, but we also recently kicked off our fifth year of the program. Global industry stakeholders have applauded GISB for its innovation in education, and the institute has helped over one hundred individuals create careers within the sports industry, among other accolades.     I am so grateful that I chose to act on that conversation in 2017 versus letting it be another interesting discussion that dies upon the goodbye. My work on and association with GISB has transformed my life. It has given my sense of purpose, decades of industry experience and expansive network a place to live and play. It has connect...

I will speak much more on this in a future post, but for now, I am thrilled to share that I have written a book on football in India, and Om Books International has published it! The book, Awakening the Blue Tigers , is available on Amazon and in bookstores across India.   It was a year-long journey to develop the concept, structure the content, secure the publishing contract, conduct research, write the book and go through the editing process. Thankfully, my co-author Gaurav Gala and I successfully made it through the entire experience, while becoming stronger writers and better friends along the way.     It is a proud moment in my life as I have always dreamed about writing a book, and now this dream has manifested into a reality.  I am sharing an image of the cover and back of the book. 

I am blessed. It is truly a privilege to have the opportunity to work in a field that is an extension of my core self. That is exactly what sports management education is for me. An extension of who I am and how I want to contribute to the world.  Creating programs, platforms and partnerships that allow people to reflect upon themselves and connect with their professional aspirations makes waking up each morning exciting and worthwhile.  It makes me feel that I am living my purpose and doing my small part to add value to people’s lives.  The wild part about this is how much fun one can have while living their purpose. I experienced this a few weeks back when I was with my GISB students in London for the annual GISB-Premier League study trip to the United Kingdom. Thanks to GISB’s long-standing partnership with the Premier League, our students (and administrators) get the extraordinary opportunity to spend a week in London learning how the Premier League and Premier League...

To my loyal readers: let me express my sincere apologies for disappearing for a while. My last post was in December of 2021, which makes this, I believe, the longest gap between posts since I started this blog in early 2010. Since December 2021, I have experienced several positive shifts in my personal and professional life; however, I will use this opportunity to share one of my proudest achievements.   I have become a certified Professional Coach!  In 2002, when I started working with Major League Soccer, I planned to get an introductory-level coaching badge so I could effectively coach youth soccer players during the weekend. Then I got busy with work, completing my MBA, social life, girlfriends, exploring New York City, etc., and never took any action aligned with this plan.  In 2009, when I moved to India, again, I thought I would get an AIFF D-license and start coaching Indian youth in my free time.  Never happened.   Deep down inside, I always w...

At the moment, the Indian sports industry does not require more sports management education institutes to be established or short courses and executive programs to be launched.  This trend has taken India by storm over the last few years.  While I am thrilled that the birth of these institutes and courses reflect the growing demand for sports management as a career option, I cannot confidently say that they are all serving the industry or the student.  This statement is not meant to be derogatory towards the universities, organizations and individuals that have launched these courses. Most offer the requisite amount of teaching hours, industry exposure and internship opportunities to pass students through the course and attempt to launch them into the sporting ecosystem. However, what is missing in many of the sports management programs I have researched is a robust and customized mentorship program.       The Indian sports industry is still a developi...

I have been working in the sports industry for the past twenty years. Like many other sectors, there are certain sports industry words that are just tossed around over and over again. Words like ‘ecosystem,’ or ‘authentic,’ or ‘engagement.’ One word commonly used but rarely understood is the word ‘grassroots.’ The dictionary definition of grassroots is the most basic level of an activity or organization.  Grassroots sports can be defined as community-driven sports activity at a local level that is mainly recreational, rather than being about achieving high levels of performance or commercial success. Investing in grassroots sports is regularly posited as the answer to the challenges facing the development of sport within a country or region. I heard this commonly held belief during my years working at MLS as it related to supporting the growth of soccer in North America. Here in India, football stakeholders who are desperate to grow the beautiful game in the country sound like bro...