Blogging Matters!!! : TURF 2011 - The Report- Day II

Day 48.

This is the run down of the second day, i.e. today Oct, 21, of FICCI's 3rd Global Sports Summit. Yesterday, I did the run down of Day 1 and we shall commence from Session 5 which is was the point of today's initiation.

Session 5 - Creating Profitable Sports Properties :
Moderator - Mr. Sukhvinder Singh, Managing Director, Libero Sports : -
(Key Remarks) -

1.) Mr. Vivek B Singh, Jt. Managing Director, Procam International -

• Sport has really grown on age. Creating profitable sport properties is already happening. Due to the overshadowing by cricket we can't see building of sports properties in sports like horse racing, soccer,etc.
• Apart from cricket, every other sport is joining its place, it's happening slowly.

2.) Ms. Shagun Chowdhary, Qualified Olympic Shooter -

• Shooting is a sport where anyone can come to participate. You can relate it to cricket. Money is the driving force.
• We have developed huge stadiums. Due to the demand, there are hundreds of shooters. Over the past six years there have been more than 100 medals.

3.) Mr. Vijay Bhardwaj, Head-Research and Consultancy, Sports 18 : -

• There are brands looking to connect with people, which was missing 15 years ago. The key element to look is to look at sports as industry. In sports there are smaller and niche properties that can be created. Brands are entering as people are willing to pay.
• There is a need to go premium. Indian television is still young and amateur medium, unlike US or UK, where it is 50 years old. If you have a medium that old, there are patterns set. There needs to be an understanding of market and understanding of commerce, use of brands, use of technology as an asset.
• The key element is to identify and open up the revenue streams. Secondly, we need to understand that the consumption pattern of sports is changing. 20 years ago it was just about switching on t.v. and watching a sport. Today, its more about participation.

Session 6 : Dynamics of League system in Sports : Leveraging Hidden Demand -
Moderator - Mr. Anupam
Key Remarks :

1.) Mr. Vijay Bhardwaj, Head-Research & Consultancy, Sports 18 : -

• If you are a businessman and you have a monopoly, then you are happy. You need competition to survive, if you don't have it, you are dead. Leagues are basically of people with similar mindset, who decide how many elements will be structured. League is actually older as compared to association.
• Leagues in US were earlier localized, but after the growth of transportation, it spread. Leagues are nothing, but a way to put sport competition in pattern.

2.) Mr. William Wilson, Soccer United Marketing : -

• Concept is very essential. Soccer is a sport that's very unique. In US, challenges are same like English Premier League or Spanish La Liga.
• India is a new territory. We see this region with anxiety in interest like what will happen between IMG and Reliance?

3.) Mr. Rathindra Basu, Corporate Communication & Event Management : -

• After the phenomenal success of IPL, we saw a lot of IPL like leagues mushrooming in various states. You have somehow, cricket becoming a national integrator. We have natural propensity of making a league.
• When you start a league and make it financially viable, you need to look at basic infrastructure, how do you get people to buy in these leagues?, you have to create a fan infrastructure.

Session 7 : Will Sports (Development) Bill Strengthen the NSFs? -
Moderator : - Mr. Gaurav Kalra, Sports Editor, CNN-IBN

Key Remarks -
1.) Mr. Mathivanan.N, Executive Partner, Corporate Law -

• The Sports Federations should be strengthened. There is a requirement of good governance of sports federations, their accountability, their responsibility (social responsibility is an important item), their activities should be independent otherwise it loses autonomy.
• The governance should be on the basis of fairness. Fairness in representation of Board according to constitutional measures. You have to empower the Executive Board, so strengthening, giving due power to executive board is important.

2.) Mr. Morad Ali Khan, Shooter & Arjuna Awardee -

• When we compare Sports Management efficiency in India with foreign, then we realize how far behind we are.
• There is nothing in particular in this Bill, which tells taht you cannot run the federations with your money, with your process of development.Problems come with personal issue. If we remove them, there is nothing in the Bill that's against the federations.

3.) Mr. Viren Rasquinha, CEO, Olympic Gold Quest -

• I have read the bill myself and I don't think the bill is intrusive or draconian. Don't give generalised opinion that the bill is intrusive.
• At the end of the day, implementation is the key to legislation. If you bring in accountability, corporate sponsors will come in. The key here is to educate the people about the bill. You cannot please different stakeholders. Come to a consensus to what's a good sports bill in India.

Session 8 : Role of Corporate in Sports Development and Innovative Strategies -
Moderator : - Mr. Varun Palival -

Key Remarks -
1.) Mr. Charles Borromeo, Padamsri, Senior Manager-Sports, Tata Steel : -

• One of our tiers is at rural areas, we have sports for all. We invite community, people to identify the talents, in football, in archery,etc.
• Second tier is training mode. We have 15 training centres. Wherever the children are interested, we identify and because of these training centre models they are able to get better education.
• We in corporate world don't expect immediate profit. We want to create a healthy environment where we are operating.

2.) Mr. Dharmesh Jain, Chairman & MD, Nirmal Lifestyle : -

• Most children become serious sportspersons between 8-15 years. In India, unless you are a Sachin Tendulkar, parents pull you away from sports in 7th standard.
• In France, schools actually give marks for sports. If marks are given for sports at the grassroot level, dramatic changes can happen. With sports the key is to have a long-term vision and not a short one.