At the 7th global sports summit Scorecard 2022 (themed Priorities and Potential for a New World of Sport) top leaders from the global sporting world shared their views on topics such as the state of sports, resumption of sports in states and in schools, rise of esports and employment opportunities in the Indian sporting industry. The conference was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, as well as Sportscom Industry Confederation. From the Center for Sports and Business, Martin Carlsson-Wall (Center Director) and Nick Andersson (Director Internationalisation), participated. Further, Anna Iwarsson (Board Member of the Swedish Sports Confederation) and Peter Mattsson (Director of Elitsports2030) also participated in the summit. 

The first day of the program consisted of, among other things, an inaugural session (with Anna Iwarsson, Vice-Chairperson of the Swedish Sports Confederation), a conversation with Peter Mattsson (Managing Director for the Project elitesports2030), and the resumption of sports in states and schools. The second conference day consisted of themes such as New Age engagement for Sports Fans, Employment and Skilling for the Future, and the Esports Landscape in India. 

At the summit, there was a consensus, including among businesses who attended, that the Indian government has done more than its fair share in supporting the sports ecosystem. However, India will need to channel more private resources in order to move to the next level, it was argued. This is a viewpoint increasingly articulated in Sweden too, which the recently launched Elite Sport 2030 by the Swedish Sports Confederation, Swedish Olympic Committee, and Swedish Parasport in many ways seek to address. The fact that CII (Confederation of Indian Industries) has established a committee dedicated to sports is a testimony of its seriousness. In this regard, they are a role model for us here in Sweden. 

Reflecting after having attended the summit, Nick Andersson said: “I was deeply grateful to have the opportunity to join the preeminent annual sports business conference in India, CII Scorecard 2022, and engage with leading practitioners in India's sports business landscape. It provided much food for thought and hope for the future.” 

An issue brought up during the summit was about attracting the best business talents to the sports industry, which requires beating offers from MBB, investment banks, and up-and-coming startups. This is no small task. Currently, sports organizations globally struggle with outlining clear career paths for talents “off the pitch” to pursue, and India is no exception. The summit focused on broad initiatives in sports management, while less emphasis was put on actually bringing sports into leading business schools. The Center for Sports and Business thinks that sports management alone is too specialized to offer credible value for leading sports organizations going forward. Instead, we see the future belonging to rigorous business school practices tailored with deep contextual awareness. At the summit, the Center for Sports and Business highlighted our newly established M.Sc elective course in Investment and Value Creation in Global Sports, led by Center Director Martin Carlsson-Wall, as an example. The highest number of participants attending this course was from our Indian business partner school IIM Bangalore. 

Further, there was a strong interest in exploring ways to collaborate with the Center for Sports and Business (and Sweden more broadly) going forward. As Vice-Chair Anna Iwarsson from the Swedish Sports Confederation noted in the inaugural session: “At the heart of sport lies competition. Stemming from the Latin word competere, the original meaning of this is to come together. Or to strive together. By striving together everybody wins – because we all improve.”

The Center for Sports and Business was delighted to hear how well this resonated with the Indian side. They went as far as to propose a joint study group with CII (a first in sports) on ways to solidify further the ongoing cooperation between Sweden and India in sports. We from the Center for Sports and Business look forward to contributing to this in the months ahead and thereby strengthening exchanges and learning between our two countries.