Live India, Love Football

This is a line (sans what’s in the parenthesis) taken from the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams.” In the movie, an actor played by Kevin Costner builds a baseball field in the middle of Iowa and crowds of people magically show up to the ground including his dead Father. Since then so many sports organizations have made the mistake of believing that just by establishing an Academy or building a stadium, the fans will show up.   This only works if you are building another La Masia or if a live U2 concert is the first act in your new stadium.   The reality is that the public no longer just jumps at something unless there is some certainty that it would be worth their while which makes it extremely important for sports organizations to remain open about reaching out to the masses - by traveling to their backyards.      In early 2014, just a few months after our client, DSK Group, launched the Liverpool International Football Academy, we had to a make a call whether...

The past 2 months have been extraordinary! I married the girl of my dreams and then went on an incredible island-hopping trip through the Philippines. Honestly, I had no idea what my life would be like when I moved to this country many years ago. I was sure that I would be involved in football and hopefully make some friends along the way.   But not even in my wildest dreams – and I am a chronic wild dreamer – could I have imagined meeting my soul-mate, falling in love with her, her actually falling in love with me and us getting married in Delhi in front of 500 of our closest family and friends.   All the clichés, advice and statements I’ve heard for so many years are true. Sayings like, “when you meet the right person, you just know," and “Punjabi Indian weddings are the most fun weddings in the world" and “make sure you stop a few times during your wedding, look up and enjoy seeing all of your friends and family together in celebration of love.” Although I've...

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...