India’s largest tech-enabled multi-sport grassroots competition platform, Sports For All (SFA) has developed a five-year sponsorship agreement with Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), the annual grassroots sports program.
As a ‘powered by’ partner, through this strategic relationship, SFA would invest INR 12.5 crore over the next five years.
The government launched Khelo India to create a robust foundation for all grassroots sports in India and promote the country as a sporting giant.
To achieve the aim, the programme has been divided into 12 separate verticals, which include creating state-level Khelo India facilities, identifying and nurturing talent, sports for women, promoting sports among persons with disabilities, and much more.
To know more about the strategic partnership, SportsMint Media got in touch with Mr Rajas Joshi, COO of SFA. In the exclusive interview, Mr Joshi spoke on a wide range of topics, including SFA’s expected ROI from this association, streaming and telecasting in-house competitions, and much more.
1. What is the target audience of SFA in this multi-year affiliation with KIYG and the expected ROI?
SFA is focused towards the development of grassroots sports in the country. We aim to empower school athletes by providing them a platform to showcase their skills and talent, across multi-sports. Our partnership with Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), is aligned with our vision of making youth fall in love with sports through inspiring and joyful sporting experiences.
This partnership with KIYG will create awareness about the accessibility to sports for every aspiring athlete. It will initiate a journey for school-level athletes to represent their school, city, state and eventually their country. SFA was signed on as the “powered by” sponsor for the Khelo India Youth Games, beginning in the year 2023. This year, SFA is playing an integral part at the games, with the on-ground management mandate. It is a testimony to SFA’s growth as an organization that can be present across the spectrum of grassroots-level sports. This platform will serve as an impetus to discover sporting talent, across geographies and economies.
2. Could you please tell us in detail about the marketing assets received by SFA in this five-year association?
As part of this partnership, SFA is the “powered by” sponsor for the Khelo India Youth Games, until 2027. This enables SFA branding across the venue (all the stadiums), on player jerseys, collaborative social media material, branded athlete kits, and communication during all the sports ceremonies. The objective is very clear, every athlete playing at KIYG should be motivated to perform better. Whereas, every school athlete playing at SFA Championships should aspire to compete at the Khelo India Youth Games.
3. Apart from the monetary assistance what other services SFA will provide KIYG in this esteemed collaboration?
SFA has been an integral part of the Khelo India Youth Games in Haryana, Pune and Guwahati. In 2023, coming on board as a sponsor, SFA committed an investment of Rs. 12.5 crores for five years, emphasizing the unwavering dedication to discovering young sporting talent in the country. This year, for the sixth edition of Khelo India Youth Games, SFA is also organizing the on-ground games across Tamil Nadu, providing rich expertise in managing multi-sport experiences for the nation.
4. Could you please let us know about SFA’s future prospects of streaming and televising in-house sports competitions?
Viacom18 and Sports For All (SFA), India’s largest tech-enabled multi-sport grassroots competition platform, have come together to make school sports accessible to millions of sports fans, across the country. Viacom18 began presenting the best action from the SFA Championships 2023-2024 on JioCinema, Sports18-2, and Sports18 Khel channels, from December 2023. With the broadcast of SFA Championships, schools across the country will be able to recognize the sporting potential that their athletes can further harness. Thus, showcasing the untapped talent from schools, competing in more than 30 sporting categories and picking the prestigious title of ‘number one school in sports’ in that city.
The broadcast partnership will play a pivotal role in shaping a robust school sporting ecosystem, in the country. School sports Championships at this scale, across age groups, geographies, and sporting categories – have never been witnessed in the country. It will bring the passion and dedication of school athletes into the limelight and will be a game-changer in fostering a culture of sports at the grassroots level in India.