Global football heavyweights root for India’s bullish sports market

BENGALURU — Former General Secretary of the Premier League and CEO of UK Athletics Nic Coward promises to offer a panoramic view of the present and future of the sports industry, advocating and providing insights into the transformative elements that are propelling India into a new era of sporting excellence and business innovation.

Talking about the economically burgeoning sporting industry of India at the RCB Innovation Lab’s Leaders Meet India on Wednesday in Bengaluru, Nic Coward stated, “This (India) is the single greatest sports growth economy story anywhere in the world and will be for a considerable period of time. I think one of the great advantages that (India) has is that a lot of this entrepreneurial spirit can go from an idea through to execution pretty quickly.”

“ISL doing what they did in order to grow and to develop created a compelling entertainment product. As things have progressed, there can now be greater coming together of an entire ecosystem,” he added.

The Premier League enjoys a substantial fan base in India with interest growing especially among the emerging middle class in the country. The average age of an adult Premier League fan in India is 34.5 years while 39% are aged 25-34.

According to a YouGov survey last year, India enjoys a total of 160 million football enthusiasts.

Italy’s 2006 FIFA World Cup champion Alessandro Del Piero who has enthralled the passionate footballing fans of India during his stint at Delhi Dynamos also shared his thoughts on how India can become a football powerhouse at the event.

“In order to become better, you definitely need to start from the grassroots. If you want to create something big and long-term with real value, you need to invest in facilities, infrastructure and the teams and, of course in coaches. If you build the academies then you can teach them the right things because talent is everywhere, in India and in every country in the world,” said Alessandro Del Piero.

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