A great summary of an insightful session at the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Indian Sports Summit last week, featuring our Expert Partner Nic Coward👏
What will it take for India to be a Sports-Forward Nation by 2036? On the sidelines of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Indian Sports Summit 2025 powered by Leaders in Sport at the Padukone - Dravid Centre For Sports Excellence, we hosted a group of international and Indian sports leaders and put this question to them. It is fascinating to get the outside-in and inside-out views in the same room. I had the chance to present a summary of our Sports-Forward Nation report on behalf of Sports and Society Accelerator, and this was followed by an exercise of reflection and sharing that was expertly facilitated by Nic Coward and Laura McQueen. A few themes emerged from the collective wisdom in the room: 🎒 Holistic integration of sports into education to illuminate dual career pathways: - provide structures for young athletes to multitask, grow and manage the risks of a career and equip themselves for the needs of a life - creating incentive structures and pathways for sports in education, sports as education and education after sports - addressing human capital shortages in PE teachers, coaches, support staff 💰 An environment that's encouraging and supportive of sports investments: - a rebranding of the sports landscape as being capable of using capital responsibly and ready to partner, backed by the behaviours that reinforce this brand - promoting a greater understanding of diversified funding mechanisms and feedback loops for returns on investments - making it easy for an investor to get started with a clear proposition and bouquet of potential benefits - policy nudges and incentives that promote a climate of confidence - building the collaboration muscle and bridging the public-private divide - a primary focus on developing sports manufacturing, skilling and other areas that provide the ballast for the industry - a reassessment of the role of Corporate Social Responsibility to address the needs of the next phase of national sports development 🏟️ A long term approach to building a culture of sport: - integrating sports into everyday life of Indians at school, at work, in transit, in cities and in semi-urban and rural settings - using media to reach audiences with wider messaging on the role of sport in society and its relationships with health, education, productivity and socio-economic growth - fostering mass participation through accessible infrastructure and programming - identifying and addressing drop-off points and challenges faced by adolescent girls and young women in accessing sport opportunities - taking a wider view of the sports disciplines promoted, identifying those with strong geographical and cultural resonance, and making long term multi-point investments in their development, adoption and growth Ideas abound and provide food for thought and an agenda for action. Think of this as a multi-course meal to be prepared. Of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. #sportsforwardnation #vision2036 #indiansport