NEW DELHI: Star India managing director Sanjay Gupta is convinced that the the sports industry in India has the potential to touch $10 billion in value within the the next five to seven years.
Guota made this assertion while delivering a keynote at Scorecard 2018, the CCI’s annual sports conference.
Gupta termed the Khelo India School Games, launched this year, as perhaps the best marker of the shift in the country’s approach to sports. He pointed out: “The kind of talent that it has thrown up is quite phenomenal. With scholarships being given to 734 young and upcoming sports stars in this edition itself, it has provided a template for shaping the future of these boys and girls.”
Gupta also drew attention to India’s performance at this year’s Commonwealth Games and the World Under-20 Championships. “Manika Batra in TT, Neeraj Chopra in javelin throw, Manu Bhaker in shooting, Vikas Krishan in boxing and of course, Hima Das who got us our first Gold in a global track event.”
Turning his focus to the business dynamics of sport in India, Gupta pointed out that there “are now over 15 domestic leagues in the country – across kabaddi, football, wrestling, boxing, badminton – from just 2 five years back”.
Speaking about how private enterprise had provided a booster thrust for the growth of sports in the country as the economic engine driving development, Gupta noted: “They have overcome all roadblocks of infrastructure and training, put in staggering sums of money and collaborated, and in many instances, created a whole new set of entities to build viable and scalable business models.
“All these leagues have all managed to find a place for themselves with the people of this country. They are watching them in their homes on TV or on their mobile phones on their daily commute on buses, local trains, and taxis. Brands are coming in, starting to ascribe real value to the impact that sport delivers by putting in sponsorship money. IPL, our largest league, is valued at $5.3 billion today.”
He added: “This has all resulted in a step change in the sports industry, which has growth from $1.3 billion to $2.7 billion in just a matter of five years. And in my mind, this journey has only begun. Sports is still at 0.1% share of our GDP, while globally the industry is sized at ~0.5% of GDP share. Given where we are, we have the momentum to become a $10 billion industry in the next 5 to 7 years.”
