Mumbai, November, 2018:The Times of India – Global Business Sports Show (GSS) 2018, one of the largest sporting events in India, is back with its third edition and will take place in December 2018 in Mumbai. Themed ‘Enhancing India’s Sports Ecosystem’, the show caters to a B2B, B2G as well as B2Csegment and will bring together top brands, corporates, associations, federations, policy makers, sports management companies and leading stakeholders who are a part of the sports value chain, under one roof, to help India realize the dream of becoming a truly international sports nation with world class infrastructure.
On a path to become a nation that welcomes sports, highlights the government’s visualization to build and preserve a sustainable sports ecosystem and to enable the positive way forward, the Indian sports industry has taken a dramatic shift in the past 2 decades. There is a massive spotlight on the world of sports, fitness and health. Today, the sports industry has managed to influence various industries around us and is one of the major factors leading to the flourishing of these industries.
The sports sector in India has witnessed a number of recent developments, which have contributed to its significant growth. The global sports market, comprising of infrastructure, events, training and manufacturing and retail of sports goods is estimated at INR37.8–44.2 Lakh crore (USD600–700 billion), accounting for approximately 1 per cent of the global GDP.
At present, the fashion industry has greatly been influenced by the sports industry, starting with sportswear being spotted at numerous fashion weeks. For those who are on the other side of spectrum, the athletes who spend most of their day training would now prefer wearing sporty bold attire than a plain sports uniform.
There is a unique liaison between the sports industry and the food and beverage organisations. These brands are now appealing to its target audience by incorporating all aspects of a healthy lifestyle in their upcoming product ranges, thereby providing a mode for an overall healthy lifestyle while facilitating the primary agenda of promoting the sports industry.
The importance of sports is in today’s time harnessing the power of the nation for a better infrastructure which indirectly influences the sports participation. The previous few years have seen a surge in advancement of sports infrastructure and amenities in India and although at a growing stage, the Indian sports industry presents significant opportunities.
Commenting on this, Mr. Deepak Lamba, President, Times Strategic Solutions Limited said“There is a need to have a platform that allows each one of us to deliver a dynamic mix of offerings from various industries that influence the sports management in our country. The Times of India Global Sports Show 2018 will be playing a focal role in enabling a sustainable sports ecosystem so as to create an additional positive impact in the evolutionary sports industry.”
Mohit Burman, Board of Director, Dabur, also said, “The Ecosystem has been rapidly and positively changing. The key is to build strong brands. It would not be fully accurate to suggest it is about trend chasing. Most leagues in the major sports economies are half a century old at least. A strong product and brand can withstand all trends.”
“The current sports ecosystem is much improved as compared to the times we grew up in. The opportunities are huge, numerous sports have caught the fancy of consumers and this has opened avenues for people to contemplate a professional career in sports” said Karthik Raman, Chief Marketing Officer, IDBI Federal.
Speaking ahead of this, Mr. Kaustubh Sonalkar, President HR, Essar Group, Chief Executive Officer, Essar Foundation said, “The current sports ecosystem has seen a major paradigm change in past few years, especially in the amount of attention and interest among followers of the sports. People who used to be cricket fans are now cheering for football, kabbadi, hockey, shooting, boxing and other sports. There is a mass movement for playing more and for greater participation at national and international stage. The Government is also supporting sports in a big way by promoting Khelo India program. The potential for identifying talent and nurturing sports at rural and especially tribal areas is massive.”
Confirmed Advisory:
- Parth Jindal, Managing Director, JSW Cement
- Boria Majumdar, Renowned Sports Journalist, Author and Professor
- Shashi Prabhu, Founder & Sr. Partner, Shashi Prabhu & Associates
- Dushyant Chautala, President, Table Tennis Federation of India
- Om Pathak, Member – Olympic Task Force, Founder & Chairman – School Sports Promotion Foundation, Founder & Chairman – Delhi Public School Ghaziabad Society
- Rajesh Kalra, Chief Editor, Times Internet and Member of Olympic Task Force
- Rohan Bopanna, Indian Tennis Player
- Narendra Sopal, Working President, School Games Federation of India
- Vita Dani, Chairperson, 11Even Sports, Promoter, ELMS Foundation, Co-owner, Chennaiyin F. C. Abhinav Bindra, Former Indian Olympic Shooter and Founder, Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance
Confirmed speakers:
- Niraj Bajaj, Promoter Director – Bajaj Group, Board of Director – Bajaj Auto Ltd, Bajaj Allianz Life and General Insurance, Chairman of Jamnalal Sons and Bachhraj& Company, Chairman & Managing Director of Mukand Limited
- Santosh Nair, President & Chief Business Officer, DHFL
- Giriraj Mall, Director, Mallcom
- Deepthi Bopaiah, Executive Director, GoSports Foundation
- Kaustubh Sonalkar, President HR, Essay Group and Chief Executive Officer, Essay Foundation
- Jose Antonio Caches, La Lira, Country Manager, India
- Jayen Mehta, Managing Director, Amul Dairy
- Thin Mishra, Managing Director & Cofounder, Baseline Venture
- Supartik Sen, CEO, Unilazer Sports, Co – Founder, U Sports| Global Sports Marketing Forum
- Ranjit Shahani, Former Vice Chairman &Managing Director, Novartis India Ltd.,Vice Chairman & President, Swizz – India Chambers of Commerce
- Akshat Rathee, Managing Director, Nodwin Gaming
- Rahul Sarangi, Co-Founder & Director, Greymatter Entertainment
- Rishi Narain, Managing Director, RN Sports Marketing, Former professional golfer and Asian Games gold medallist
- Aneesh, GM, Ten Cent
- Srinvvasan Gopalkrishnan, Group Head Marketing and Strategy, Reliance
- Anand Datla, Head Impact, Tata Trusts
- Shrinivas Dempo, Chairman & Managing Director, Dempo Group
- Mohit Burman, Board of Director, Dabur
- Albert Almeida, COO, Non-Movies, BookMyShow
- Vinit Karnik, Business Head – Entertainment, Sports & Live Events, Group M
- Harish Jain, Co-Founder & CEO, Dream 11
- Rajesh Kaul, Chief Revenue Officer – Distribution and Head – Sports, Sony Entertainment
- Indranil Das Blah, Founding Partner KWAN and CEO Mumbai City FC
- Rajeev Khanna, Vice President, Rajasthan Royals
- Mukul Choudhari , CEO, Jamshedpur FC
- Prashant Prabhakar, Co-Founder & CEO, SoStronk
- Heath Matthews, Head of Sports Science and Medicine, Sir H. N. Reliance Foundation Hospital & Research Institute
- Ashish Chadha, Chief Executive Officer, Sporty Solutionz
- Rajan Navani, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, JetSynthesys
- Rishi Joshi, Founder, Sports For All
- Andreas Kufner, Head of International Brand Management, FC Bayern
- Dato’ Windsor John, General Secretary, Asian Football Confederation
- Colin Gibson, Director – Communications, Asian Football Confederation
- Peer Niclas Naubert, Head of Global Marketing, Digital & Communications, Bundesliga International
- Prof. Dr. Matthias Lochmanns, Chair of Sport Biology and Movement Medicine, Department Sports Science and Sport- Germany
- Julien Denis, CEO, Exerlights
- Nicolas Evans, Group Leader Football Quality Programme, FIFA
- Ashish Shah, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Dynamos FC
GSS 2018 is a platform for the exchange of ideas, concepts, case studies and reflections that address sports industry local needs and global issues. The event aims at educating about the development of new skills of sports industry professionals and those who are eager to associate with sports and establishing specific insights into the role of sports in today’s business world.
