Sports startups are flourishing in India

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Sports startups are flourishing in India Young entrepreneurs having a keen interest in sports are exploring new avenues for investing in the lucrative sports sector. Don’t believe us? Well, then you didn’t hear about the success several sports startups have witnessed in the recent times.
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The Football Mind, a football networking website that got operational just three months ago, has gathered more than 5,000 users, around 500 clubs, 200 academies and 50 football associations on its platform by now. What new they have done? They have brought together football clubs, academics, players, coaches, associations and admirers of the game. Quiet interesting right?

Pragnesh Krishnamurthy, an IIT graduate and chief executive and co-founder of The Football Mind says, "Popularity is directly proportional to sponsorship and that helps any sports club or association grow."

Krishnamurthy further said that the sports offers an opportunity of around $200 million (about Rs 1,320 crore) in the country as India has more than 25,000 professional clubs, three lakh players and over 8.5 crore fans.

Devinder Singh Bhusari, another sports aficionado who quit his job with Indian Oil Corporation, and launched tennis firm Shaishya Edu & Sports three years ago predicts a shining future of sports startups in India.

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He says, “More people are taking to sports not only as future profession for young students but also as exercise for busy working professionals and even housewives.” We can’t ignore his words, as these are coming from the man who has been associated with sports all his life. He is a former Asian champion in the under-14 category and a rank holder from the Association of Tennis Professionals, Gujarat.

As reported by The Economic Times, the company, which had a turnover of Rs 95 lakh last year has around 225-275 players round the year. Of the players, 50 are business and working professionals, 10-15 are home-makers and the remaining are students. And the firm has already organised two Asian ranking tournaments and about 10 national level tournaments of various levels.

Tennis is another sport that has caught the attention of the middle and higher classes, says a KPMG report. The study credits this trend to much higher disposable incomes and share of spending on educational and recreational activities, which is set to increase from 5% at present to 9% in 2025.

Tuhin Mishra, managing director of Baseline, a startup which deals in sports marketing and licensing, said the overall sports industry in India has grown 10% from Rs 4,372.5 crore in 2013 to Rs 4,806.9 crore in 2015. "The global sports industry is growing faster than overall GDP and long-term prospects remain strong," he said.

Mishra also believes that the industry has grown mainly due to the emergence of new sports leagues like the Indian Super League, Pro Kabaddi League and World Kabaddi League.

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Saumil Majmudar, managing director and co-founder of EduSports says, "We have grown from 10 schools in 2010 to 400 schools in five years."

A SeedFund-funded startup, EduSports’s growth led it to being featured in the 14th edition of marketing guru Philip Kotler's book 'Marketing Management - a South Asia Perspective' as a case study.

Bharati Jacob, managing partner of Seedfund Advisors, an early-stage venture capital firm, said, "We are always looking for scalable ventures and I believe sport-related ventures scale up well." According to other venture fund experts, startups are set to cater to auxiliary sports services too.
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