Interviews

At a press conference on Monday, April 19, following approval of the new post-2024 format for European club competitions, UEFA president ALEKSANDER ČEFERIN spoke out strongly against the notion of a breakaway European Super League.

'It is not just the football community. All of society and governments are united'
"I cannot stress more strongly at this moment that UEFA and the footballing world stand united against the disgraceful, self-serving proposals we have seen from a select few clubs in Europe that are fuelled by greed above all else.

VIVEK SINGH, the joint managing director of Procam International, and someone who, along with his elder brother Anil Singh, can rightfully lay claim to having pioneered the running movement in India, has an interesting take on sports. Vivelspeak: "I derive maximum satisfaction through opportunities that help bring change into people’s lifestyles and mindsets via sport." 

Speaking of opportunities, the pandemic has offered an "opportunity to innovate, explore new horizons, and move ahead with solutions that inspire change!"

In answer to his most received question of 2020, "What do you actually do now?" PETER HUTTON, Director of Sports Partnerships, Facebook, shared an internal Facebook post on the year for his sports team, detailing examples of how the sports industry is helped by the social media behemoth (Across What's App, Messenger, Facebook, Instagram, Oculus, Portal).

Bowing to the inevitable, it was announced Tuesday that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games would be postponed; an extraordinary move, unprecedented in peacetime, as the world battles the coronavirus pandemic.

THOMAS BACH, International Olympic Committee president, speaking soon after the announcement that the highest-profile event affected by the virus that has killed thousands and closed sports competitions worldwide had been pushed to 2021, clears the air on what to expect going forward.

As the clock ticks down to the 2020 edition of the country's biggest running event - the Tata Mumbai Marathon - a new partnership that will kick in for event promoters Procam International on race day is with Franklin Templeton. The fund house has come on board as Investment Partner for all of Procam's four running events. 

SANJAY SAPRE, Franklin Templeton India president, spoke to Vivek Krishnan on his company's first ever sponsorship of a sports event in the country. 

Edited excerpts from the interview: