Today, packaging of a sporting event has become paramount for its success and ability to find takers. Taking a leaf out of the Indian Premier League’s popularity, Ernst & Young, in a report on the sports system in India, said it is necessary to grasp the concept of ‘sportainment’.
“The Indian spectator is increasingly aspiring to engage with sports as means of entertainment and recreation. However, while the demand for the improved services has progressively increased, a great deal remains to be done before India can offer spectators the level of experience that sport enthusiasts are accustomed to in other parts of the world,” the report states.
It says although the funding for the country’s sports industry has gone up from Rs 27 crore in the Sixth Five-Year Plan to more than Rs 4,600 crore in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-2012), the allocation should go up further.
It says three changes are needed for development of sports in the country. The government needs to change its attitude towards sports, the social ‘stigma’ attached to sports as a career option has to wither and there should be public-private partnerships to build sporting infrastructure in the country, said Guru Malladi, partner, E&Y-India, at the India International Sports Summit here.
Speaking at the summit, Narendra Jadhav, member of the Planning Commission said there should be a Sarva Kreeda Abhiyaan in the country on the lines of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan. He said PPP was critical in the country for building sporting infrastructure. Suresh Shetty, minister of sports, Maharashtra, said it is only cricketers who are seen to be partying after and before the IPL matches and this needs to change, as sportsmen in other sporting categories should also be given their due. “We are going to soon formulate the state’s sports policy and would be having our first meeting with the Chief Minister this Saturday,” Shetty said.
The E&Y report said hosting mega sporting events such as the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games initiated a country to the global sporting arena and served as a vehicle of socio-economic change.
