Live India, Love Football

I remember back in 2009. I was still living in New York and volunteering as a coach in Landmark's Self Expression & Leadership program. Everyone in that program, including the coaches, had to design and execute a community service project. My project design involved helping Indian youth living in New York City identify their dream jobs and then setting up pathways and mentors intended to support their journeys towards there chosen professions.  I was able to confirm a few Indian community groups in Queens who invited me to work with their kids and even found a few willing mentors, but never got around to actually executing the project. Fast forward 7 years and now I'm standing in front of a classroom of 50 MBA students at Nirma University in Ahmedabad engaged in a straight conversation with them about having the courage and conviction to go after their "dream jobs." I put everything I had into that speech as deep down inside I feel that Indian families, society...

I know that I tried to be a bit too creative with this title. What I was trying to say is that when I first arrived in India a little over 6 years ago I had no voice (or was a novice) when it came to Indian football.   I was just some Indian guy with a thick American accent who tried to integrate the fact that I worked as a Director for Major League Soccer into every conversation possible.   People would listen to me ramble about the growth of soccer in the United States but would stop paying attention the second I tried to share an opinion on Indian football, which made sense given the fact that I knew very little about the industry back in 2009.   Now things have changed. I am by no means an expert, but I can confidently say that I know more about the business of Indian football than most people which is not surprising as I’ve fully immersed myself within this domain for the past 6+ years.   That being said, I must say that sometimes when I’m delivering a pre...

“When is football in India going to reach its potential?” I’ve heard the same question over and over in conferences, in meetings, at parties and during every family gathering for the past 8 years of my association with this sport in this country.   It’s a simple but complex question given India’s size, the structural & bureaucratic challenges of this country and the fact that no one really knows what India’s “footballing potential” truly is.   Growth takes time yet for some reason so many stakeholders within and outside of the industry feel that Indian football should transform into what’s seen in England and Germany overnight.   Obviously this is not possible and it takes focused, intelligent investment and action from a number of passionate and patient individuals to truly make an impact on the football landscape in this country. Thankfully, Shirish Kulkarni is one of those individuals.   I met Shirish back in 2013 in a Munich hotel when he was considerin...

I remember back in 2009 when I was exploring the idea of moving to India full-time, I dreamed that my life in this country would be rich; a consistent concoction of new places, people and experiences.  To be honest, while the opportunity to contribute to football in my parent’s country of origin was my primary motivation to eventually make the move, it was the potential for growth and adventure which ultimately sealed the deal. But I’ve realized that there are different types of adventure. Anyone can pack a bag, buy a Eurorail pass and take a back-packing trip through Europe and it would certainly be adventurous, however the type of adventure I was looking for in India was a bit different, it involved building solid friendships, diving deeper into Indian culture, experiencing deep personal growth and impacting the sports industry along the way. This past month is the perfect example of what I was dreaming of while in my Brooklyn, NY apartment back in 2009.   A month of tr...

A few months ago, my team and I met with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to discuss plans around the 2015 edition of the CII Soccerfest.   While this this initiative has been termed as a “fest” in past editions, I can be honest in sharing that it has really been more of an incredible corporate football tournament than an actual festival.   What has made it incredible in the past is the fact that the tournament takes place inside JNS in Delhi, a cavernous stadium upgraded for the 2010 Commonwealth Games which few “amateurs” ever get to experience as a participant. This year we collectively made the decision that the 2015 CII Soccerfest will actual be a festival, multiple days of football, music and fun. So after months of planning, the event finally took place and it was exactly what we had envisioned – hundreds of Delhiites enjoying the beautiful game while basking in the comforts of the warm winter sun. Beyond including youth and womens divisions in the t...