Mumbai: In a first of its kind endeavour, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) together with India On Track (IOT), are bringing The Football Movement, to India. A business driven football conference, it will aim to provide a platform for stakeholders from the two countries to engage, interact and explore commercial opportunities. The conference marks the partnership between UKTI and IOT as a part of the Football is GREAT campaign and will be held at The Trident, Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai on December 7, 2015.
The Football Movement supported by Star Sports, the (English) Premier League and Hero MotoCorp, will host more than 100 distinguished panelists and speakers, including industry leaders, policy-makers, investors, and pioneers in the field of commerce of football, from both India and the UK.
The Indian representation will be led by key stakeholders including leading corporates, Indian Super League (ISL) clubs, league/ federation representatives and broadcasters involved in football. The speakers include C. Jayaram, Joint Managing Director - Kotak Mahindra Bank, Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director - FIFA Under 17 World Cup 2017, Smita Jha, Executive Director, PwC,Gaurav Modwel, CEO – Wadhawan Holdings & FC Pune City&Anil Jayaraj, Head, Ad Sales – Star Sports.
The UK delegation, led by senior representatives from the Premier League including Craig EdmondsonHead of Marketing at the Premier League, will also include executives from some of the top English Clubs, such as Arsenal FC, Manchester United FC, Liverpool FC, Manchester City FC, Leicester City FC & Southampton FC.
The inaugural edition of The Football Movement will explore ‘Commercialising Football in India’ through its four pillars, (a) Sponsorship, (b) Creation of Revenue Streams, (c) Expansion of Fan Base and (d) Grassroots and Community Development.
Tim Vine, Director of International Relations at the Premier League, said:
“The Football Movement conference looks set to give organisations from across the UK and Indian football industries a chance to come together, share experience, look at potential collaborations and discuss the range of common issues that we face. The Premier League has a number of ongoing projects active in India, at the grassroots through Premier Skills, and via our exciting mutual cooperation agreement with the ISL. And coming exactly one year on from our hugely successful Barclays Premier League Live fan event took place in Mumbai, we are looking forward to returning to the city to take part in the Football Movement."
From an estimated 70 million television viewers in 2005, the viewership for the English Premier League today stands at over 120 million in India. The ISL garnered a cumulative TV viewership of 429 million in its opening season. The data clearly shows that football is here to stay.
The Football Movement will provide an elite platform to connect executives from nearly 75 companies, brands and clubs from both countries, to share their insights and help identify new opportunities for growth and investment in the footballing industry.
“Football is fast emerging as a major sport in India and the links with the UK here have never been stronger. With the success of the English Premier League in India, especially on TV, the sport is embedding itself in the imagination of the nation. An entire ecosystem is taking shape around football in India and this presents exciting new opportunities for all sorts of companies, clubs and individuals to be part of this movement.” said Kumar Iyer, British Deputy High Commissioner, Western India and Director General of UKTI.
“The possibilities coming out of such collaborations are endless. The success of ISL in the first season itself, having achieved the fourth largest average stadium attendance in the world, (behind only the La Liga, Premier League and Bundesliga) has shown that football can be commercialized in India.We, as a company recognize the potential of the football industry in India and that’s the reason behind our collaboration with the UKTI to set up The Movement,” explained Vivek Sethia, Founder & CEO, India On Track (IOT).
As part of their commitment to facilitating serious business through the forum, UKTI and IOT have invited young entrepreneurs to pitch their football based business ideas in a property called The Football Pitch. The winning entries will have an opportunity to present their business plans during the conference to potential investors and industry leaders.
