Participant Profiles – PILLAI/FIFA/CIES INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMME IN SPORTS MANAGEMENT

Dr. Lalzarmawia Khiangte

Name: Dr. Lalzarmawia Khiangte
City: Aizawl
Designation: Sports Medicine Physician
Organization: Mizoram State Sports Council (MSSC)
Work Experience: 13 years

Dr. Khiangte has worked as a Sports Medicine Physician for over 10 years. He joined the Mizoram State Sports Council (MSSC) in 2013 wherein he helps athletes and non-athletes, prevent and treat injuries and works on their rehabilitation. He holds office privileges of Sports Medicine Doctor at MSSC and held various responsibilities such as Doping Control Officer (DCO) in the recent FIFA U17 World Cup held in India, DCO at Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019 and Indian Super League (ISL) 2017 – 2018. He is currently the DCO for International Doping Tests and Management (IDTM) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He is also an Executive Member of the Mizoram Football Association (MFA). After completing MBBS in 2003, he completed a course in Fellowship in Sports Science (FSS) in 2009 from Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad and Post Graduate Diploma in Sports Medicine (PGDSM) from NS NIS, Patiala in 2012. He further completed the FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine (FDFM) in 2017. Dr. Khiangte is also a Life Member of Indian Association of Sports Medicine (IASM) and Indian Society of Sports & Exercise Medicine (ISSEM).

Mr. Mangesh Desai

Name: Mr. Mangesh Desai
City: Mumbai
Designation: AFC ‘A’ Coach and Technical Officer
Organization: All India Football Association (AIFF)
Work Experience: 8 years

Mr. Desai is an ex semi-professional player and has been working in the Indian Football Industry for the past eight years in coaching and management. He is an AFC A Licensed coach having extensive experience in training elite youth players at various clubs across the country. He has been the Technical Officer at All India Football Federation for the past three years driving the FIFA Forward Project in Western India. He was assigned to work closely with the Technical Study Group at the FIFA U-17 World Cup held in India in 2017. He has been instrumental in developing the Football ecosystem in Maharashtra by initiating and executing several development activities such as the State Youth League and Academy accreditation process. He is also an Instructor for the AIFF D License course having conducted more than 20 courses since 2016. He has graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree with specialization in Psychology from the University of Mumbai. He is also a volunteer at the Indian Forest Department for several wildlife conservation projects.

Mr. Hur Jaffer

Name: Mr. Hur Jaffer
City: Mumbai
Designation: Asst. Team Operation and Marketing Manager
Organization: Pro Kabaddi Team Patna Pirates Operations
Work Experience: 5 years

Originally from the hotel industry, Mr. Jaffer recently got a chance to showcase his zest and talent in the Sports industry. He joined the Patna Pirates Kabaddi team, where within months he was promoted to Assistant Operations and Marketing Manager. He handles everything related to the teams on ground activities along with working under the Marketing Head for sponsorship and team branding across all media channels. He completed his education from Les Roches School of Hotel Management, Switzerland with a specialization in Marketing. He is keen to learn more about the sports industry and the strategies that enable the success of a management team. He is a fitness enthusiast, a keen follower of all sports and loves playing football.

Mr. Khushal Palicha

Name: Mr. Khushal Palicha
City: Mumbai
Designation: Brand and Fundraising Manager
Organization: Forca Goa Foundation
Work Experience: 5 years

Mr. Palicha is currently working with a not-for-profit sports entity – Forca Goa Foundation which is affiliated with the ISL club FC Goa. The mission of the organization is to create a strong grassroots football program based on coaching, competition and infrastructure development. His role entails strategy, branding as well as fundraising and he has been working at the foundation since September 2018. Having done his post-graduation in advertising and marketing from Xavier’s Institute of Communication, he has acquired over 4 years of experience in communications as well as consumer research agencies. His previous stint includes working as a Marketing Analyst at Nielsen India. As a part of his job responsibility, he has managed marketing campaigns of sports clubs and brand manufacturers of sporting goods.

Mr. Geo George Vadakkan

Name: Mr. Geo George Vadakkan
City: Mumbai
Designation: Senior Specialist-Technical Solution
Organization: Ericsson India Pvt. Ltd.
Work Experience: 19 years

Mr. Vadakkan has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering and is working in in the telecom industry since 2001. His pre-sales domain of work has helped him to develop necessary skills like engaging, managing and negotiating with partners. It has also improved his acumen in business financial parameters which can be applied to the sports management field. He is a sports enthusiast and a passionate footballer who has acquired a D License from WIFA (Western India Football Association) affiliated to AIFF (All India football Federation) in July 2017. He is a freelancer football coach and donates at least 250 hours of his time to small clubs and institutions who are keen in playing the sport; sharing his knowledge in football and improving their overall skills in the game.

Mr. Rahul Sengupta

Name: Mr. Rahul Sengupta
City: Kolkata
Designation: Sponsorship Coordinator – VIVO Indian Premier League
Organization: IIMG
Work Experience: 8 years

Mr. Sengupta is a Sports Marketing professional having worked with the Indian Premier League, FIFA U-17 World Cup and Northeast United FC in the last five years. A Sports Management graduate from West Bengal University of Technology, he has extensive experience of working in the industry for over 8 years. Rahul has led award winning Marketing campaigns for Royal Challengers Bangalore, where he led the Digital team for four IPL seasons. He has worked as the Digital Media Manager for CPL T20 team Barbados Tridents in 2017 and 2018 seasons. Rahul specialises in Digital Marketing, Business Development and Sponsorship Management having worked with brands like Ten Sports, MRF Tyres, Britannia, Wipro, VIVO, Future group, Diageo etc. He is a fervent football lover hailing from a traditional East Bengal FC fanatic family in Kolkata.

Mr. Anand Godiwala

Name: Mr. Anand Godiwala
City: Mumbai
Designation: Communications Manager
Organization: Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU)
Work Experience: 3.5 years

Mr. Godiwala is the Communications Manager at the Indian Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the sole governing body for the sport of rugby in India. He is an active rugby player and has represented India at the international stage. His current role involves the development of rugby, which is currently in its nascent stages in the country. He specializes in corporate communications, covering the organization’s online space as well as sponsor management. Through his role at the IRFU, he has gained valuable exposure in various verticals of sport management including events, grassroots development and many more. He has been an avid sportsman right from his school days, trying his hand at basketball, football, table tennis and finally rugby over the last decade. He completed his schooling from the Cathedral & John Connon School before pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Management Studies from Jai Hind College.

Ms. Noopur Harsh

Name: Ms. Noopur Harsh
City: Navi Mumbai
Designation: Strategy Consultant
Organization: IBM
Work Experience: 4 years

Ms. Harsh is currently working as a Strategy Consultant with IBM. She has completed her engineering from UMIT and then went on to work with Deloitte as a Business Technology Analyst. Post that she completed her MBA in strategic marketing and communications where she briefly studied sports marketing as part of her course. She is an ardent follower of sports with interest in NBA and the functioning of the leagues. She was a part of the Sports Committee at MICA where she planned, managed and organized events with budget of over 5 lacs. She also handled the finances of the entire Sports Committee for the FY 2016-17. She has represented her college in multiple sports and is currently learning to learn boxing. She has recently started her Instagram page (womeninsportinc) with a few others with a mission to highlight and garner media attention to the achievements of women in sports.

Mr. Blesson Dsouza

Name: Mr. Blesson Dsouza
City: Dubai/Mumbai
Designation: Regional HR Manager
Organization: Genius Sports
Work Experience: 10 years

Mr. D’Souza is working as a Regional Manager for about five years after having about 10 years of experience in the HR stream. He is currently in charge of Live Data distribution around The Middle East and South Asia. He handles the integrity issues when it comes to statisticians. He has extensive experience in integrity and makes sure the feed he provides for the Legal Betting industry is accurate and not manipulated. He manages sports like soccer, basketball, and volleyball & handball. He has around 300 Statisticians working full-time / part-time under him. He has completed his Graduation from Mumbai University and is currently pursuing his MBA in HR from Amity University. Some of the key tournaments managed under him are Indian I league from Season 2015, Asian Champions League, and AFC Cup. He has provided his services as a volunteer for the Special Olympic Games UAE 2019. He works closely with Football Federations around Asia. His work involves a lot of traveling in order to conduct meetings with the seven Country Managers under him. He operates from UAE & Bulgaria.

Mr. Ajil D’almeida

Name: Mr. Ajil D’almeida
City: Mumbai
Designation: Operations, Marketing and Communication Specialist
Organization: Maxtalent Global Sports
Work Experience: 7.5 years

Mr. D’almeida has 4 years international experience working with Maxtalent Global Sports, which is recognized as one of the top youth sports development organizations in United Arab Emirates. He has successfully delivered numerous international and domestic sports projects. He was responsible for the communications and event flow in charge at the ICC world cup trophy tour held in UAE, tour manager of overseas sports tour to U.K. and Oman, headed UAE’s longest running inter-school & university cricket tournament for 3 years in a row and many more activities throughout the year. He has worked for about 3.5 years with Deutsche Bank of India as a process executive where he was responsible for RBI regulatory reporting. As part of his personal passion for retail, he is the founder of Copycatz (www.copycatz.in), a startup from 2015 which specializes in customized apparel and accessories which is now a family-run business.

Mr. Rajeev Menon

Name: Mr. Rajeev Menon
City: Chennai
Designation: Vice President, Human Resources
Organization: Cognizant
Work Experience: 24 years

Mr. Menon is VP, Human Resources for Cognizant in India and currently heads the Talent Acquisition Function. As part of his role, he leads the recruitment function for both campus and lateral hiring. He also manages the Global Sourcing team and the TA Global Risk and Compliance function A graduate in Economics from the University of Madras, he took his post graduate degree in Personnel Management from the Madras School of Social Work. He has over 24 years of experience across diverse industries such as media, logistics and IT Services. His passion includes playing hockey, trekking and travelling. He has been associated with developing hockey at the grassroot level and is extremely passionate about increasing the popularity of the game. He is the Vice President of the Greater Chennai Hockey association and also holds honorary positions in a few academies aimed at promoting the sport at U-13 and U-15 age categories.

Mr. Sreekanth Nagaraj

Name: Mr. Sreekanth Nagaraj
City: Mumbai
Work Experience: 12 years

Born to a sports loving family, Mr Nagaraj’s late father was one of the finest golf professionals in the country who later took to teaching budding golfers including him. As a sports enthusiast, his association with sports goes back 3 decades. Golf has helped him enhance his observational skills which further boosted his focus towards academics & other mental sports such as Chess. During his school days he played Badminton, Cricket, Basketball, but the one sports closest to his heart is Golf. His zeal, passion & dedication over the years made him convert his hobby into a full-fledged profession. To add to his credit, he was the best junior golfer in Mumbai for 2 years in a row. He also won the longest drive and close to the pin Junior golf tournament in Dubai. He is currently working for Mehta group of companies as a senior executive Manager, who manages their operations for the golf courses in Uganda and Porbandar.

Mr. Uday Shroff

Name: Mr. Uday Shroff
City: Noida
Designation: Promoter
Organization: Aspire Hill
Work Experience: 7 years

Mr. Shroff has worked in football for over the last six years in a management role where he has trained over 2,000 kids. Until 2018, he was the Business Director at RoundGlass Sports where he set up Punjab’s biggest grassroots programme in Football. Currently, he has setup an business in partnership with two verticals: Total Football India, a football academy providing world class football training at the grassroots level and Turf Enough, an organization that builds sports infrastructure. He now aims to shape the sport of Football in the state of Uttar Pradesh. He holds an AIFF-D License coaching certificate and a Bachelor’s in Business Administration degree from Amity University.

Ms. Surabhi Maiti

Name: Ms. Surabhi Maiti
Designation: Systems Engineer
Organization: Tata Consultancy Services
Work Experience: 3 years

Ms. Maiti is a Software Professional working as a System Engineer at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with three years of experience in technical support. Her client is a telecom company based in South Africa. She has been appreciated and rewarded for her efforts in handling critical project activities effectively both by TCS and the client. She had also organized the Cricket League Season 3 for the client. She is actively involved in sports and received many awards over the years. She played Football at the National level representing Maharashtra in 2010. She represented TCS Mumbai women’s Football team and won the best player award at her corporate football tournament. She has a Computer Engineering degree from VIT which is affiliated to Mumbai University. She was the Sports Head at VIT. She participated in Intra-college Sports Festivals at VJTI, ICT, KJ Somaiya, Xavier’s and the University of Mumbai. Her team’s paper on Human Genome variation using Big Data won the 3rd Best Paper award at an International Conference in New Delhi.

Mr. Nitin Arora

Name: Mr. Nitin Arora
City: Mumbai
Designation: Business Head
Organization: Pune 7 Aces- Premier Badminton League
Work Experience: 8 years

Mr. Arora began his professional career in 2011 and has been an active stakeholder in the Indian Sports spectrum since 2013 garnering experience across Events, Programming, Talent & Celebrity Management and Franchise Management. He has worked with industry stalwarts like Percept for Sports Event Management, Star Sports for Programming & Talent Management and currently heads the business for Pune 7 Aces, a franchise in The Premier Badminton League. Following his passion and zeal to contribute to the Sporting ecosystem in the country, he started a Sports and Entertainment Celebrity Management firm in 2016 for a seamless, organic integration of creating and nurturing the revenue streams for athletes in the fields of Cricket and other sports. He has also explored opportunities across BFSI, Traditional Media & mainstream Entertainment to dovetail the learning’s into scripting a growth story for Sports. Nitin aims to become a global Sports Professional in the near future.

Mr. Danaindran Rajendran

Name: Mr. Danaindran Rajendran
City: Kaula Lumpur
Designation: Head of Operations
Organization: Asian International Arbitration Centre
Work Experience: 9 years

Mr Rajendran is the Head of Operations at the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC), an international organisation established in 1978 under the auspices of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO). The Centre provides institutional support as a neutral and independent venue for the conduct of international arbitration proceedings, which includes Sports Arbitrations. He is responsible for the daily operations of the Centre through collaboration with Legal Services and Business Development Departments, performing an array of administrative tasks from managing calendars, generating correspondence, planning and coordinating team meetings and scheduling facilities. In addition, he acts as liaison between staff and the Director of AIAC with respect to employee well-being, project updates, proposals, and planning. His day-to-day responsibilities extend to advising on the general legal affairs of the Centre, by providing strategic consultation to the Government (through its Ministries and proxy agencies) in the AIAC’s capacity as a Government think tank.
Since 2014, he has led several sports law initiatives for the Centre, by coordinating the development of the Asian Sports Tribunal (AST) framework by liaising with authorities in the Malaysian sports industry, notably the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) and the Office of the Minister for Youth & Sports and numerous other sporting associations (professional and amateur). The AST is a pilot project that was successfully utilised in the 2017 SEA Games held in Kuala Lumpur. He has also organized tribunal hearings for the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) which are regularly held at the AIAC as the official alternative hearing venue for CAS in Asia. He is one of the founding members of the Sports Law Association of Malaysia (SLAM) and current acting Treasurer for the 2018/2019 term. As a professional body, SLAM aims to inspire leadership and interest in the issues of law in sports by creating a knowledge-sharing and networking platform amongst sports lawyers and sports industry stakeholders.

Mr. Mohit Khanna

Name: Mr. Mohit Khanna
City: Ahemdabad
Designation: Head of Operations
Organization: Kahaani Sports Academy
Work Experience: 2 years

Mr. Khanna is working as Head of Operations at Kahaani Sports Academy (a local football club) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He has two years of work experience in Sports industry. After starting as an intern for content writing at the football club in 2017 while pursuing graduation, he gradually worked his way up to managing marketing activities of the Club to currently looking after its overall operations management. In this short period, he has gained appropriate knowledge of condition and functioning of football in the local community. With the help of the club he is working towards promoting this beautiful sport in the city. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with specialization in Human Resource and Finance from Ahmedabad University.

Mr. Neel Shah

Name: Mr. Neel Shah
City: Mumbai
Designation: Business Development Manager
Organization: PIFA Sports Private Limited
Work Experience: 3 years

Mr. Shah has worked on various aspects within the Indian football ecosystem. He started off as a professional football player in the I-League 2nd division in 2014. He then went on to pursue his education at Southampton Solent University in the U.K. and achieved a BA (Honours) Degree in Football Studies & Business. After graduating in 2017 he became the Head of Youth Development for Premier India Football Academy (PIFA). In 2018 he received the AFC C’ License Coaching Certificate and has coached and managed the U- 13, U-15, U-18 and Women’s Football team for PIFA Sports F.C. Apart from that Neel has also been handling the Administration for the his family-run Academy and also has an expertise in organizing Football tournaments such as the Junior Football League (JFL), Premier Football League (PFL) and the Varsity Cup. Last but not least, Neel has also been an integral part of creating business development plans for the domestic/international football training camps organized by PIFA which give opportunities for students to get top quality football training by highly ranked foreign coaches.

Mr. Rashik Gurjar

Name: Mr. Rashik Gurjar
City: Jaipur
Designation: Operations Executive- IPL Team
Organization: Rajasthan Royals
Work Experience: 2 years

Mr. Gurjar has been a sports enthusiast since childhood. He has been working with different sports organizations in various roles for the past one year. He worked as an Operations Executive for RAJASTHAN ROYALS in IPL 2019 where he was in-charge of hospitality & team requirements’ management. After this experience he worked with SSPARK managing services for the inaugural WOMEN’S T20 CHALLENGE. He worked with First Choice Hospitality as concessions manager for MEN’S HOCKEY WORLD CUP 2018 in Bhubaneswar Odisha and with Martin Garrix India Tour 2018. He also worked as an operations coordinator with Rajasthan Royals at the beginning of his career in 2018. He is fueled by his passion and love for sports, with a dream to see EQUALITY in sports where “Every SPORT and SPORTSPERSON deserves equal love and respect”.

Mr. Sandipta Das

Name: Mr. Sandipta Das
City: Kolkata
Designation: Co-Founder and Player’s Agent
Organization: Treble Sports Management
Work Experience: 9 years

Mr. Das owns a consultancy firm, Treble Sports Management where he offers bespoke solutions to his clientele (Player’s, Coaches, Clubs and Associations) with regard to player recruitment, training camp, consultancy, marketing etc. He currently works with professional players around the globe and seeks possible opportunities to offer a suitable contract to them from a professional football club in India or abroad. He facilitated the deal for the very first pro footballers from countries like Namibia and South Korea to play in registered top level football leagues in India. His journey began way back in 2009 when as a teenager he conducted a football trial camp sponsored by a Nonresident Indian. Apart from his job, he is an avid fan of Liverpool FC and has also been an ex board member for the official Liverpool supporters club, Bengal.

Mr. Hassan Mujtaba

Name: Mr. Hassan Mujtaba
City: Mumbai
Designation: Sr. Account Executive
Organization: Me Biz PR
Work Experience: 3 years

Mr. Mujtaba is a Senior Account Executive with Go Fish Entertainment wherein he advises clients on Public Relations strategies. Before this, he was with Adfactors PR in Infrastructure practice. He strongly believes that Business and Communication should go hand in hand. Introspection and a strong passion for the work keep him motivated. Hassan dreams to be a Talent Manager for athletes at the grassroots level and assist young talents to reach their goal. In his free time, he indulges in books and movies. He is an avid follower of Athletics, Premier League, Champions League and National Basketball Association. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Asian Institute of Professional Studies in 2016 and completed his Post- graduation in Public Relations & Corporate Communication from Xavier Institute of Communications in 2017.

Mr. Vishal Srivastav

Name: Mr. Vishal Srivastav
City: Mumbai
Designation: Journalism
Organization: Freelancer
Work Experience: 9 years

Mr. Srivastav is a former national badminton player who has a number of accolades to his name. He has passion for sports that made him opt for a career in sports journalism. He was awarded with ‘Sportsman of the Year Award’ in the year 2004-05 for captaining his school in as many as five sporting disciplines. Alongside, he has a rich experience as sports commentator, coach, writer and sports manager. He loves training budding sportsmen and would like to set up a state-of-the-art badminton academy in India where he aspires to sculpt some of world’s brightest badminton talent. He has trained under a renowned ISSA certified health and conditioning coach. . He has extensive experience covering global and Indian sports. He has reported from Ground Zero for a number of global sports events. He has a Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Makhanlal Chaturvedi Rashtriya Patrakarita Mahavidyala.

Mr. Raghav Chhabra

Name: Mr. Raghav Chhabra
City: New Delhi
Designation: Technical Manager
Organization: YoungStar Academy, India
Work Experience: 3 years

Mr. Chhabra has worked as an Assistant Trainer and Operations Intern, Chief Co-ordinator and Technical Manager at Young Star Academy (YSA) over the course of 6 years. During his tenure, he was responsible for developing a business model that enabled Young Star Academy to become a multisport academy by adding four new sports. He successfully created and implemented pre participation evaluation (PPE) that gave YSA the ability to monitor player’s improvements on a regular basis by identifying their strengths and weaknesses. He was also responsible for developing strategy and implementation plans for advertising and marketing campaigns. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Investment Analysis from Amity University, NOIDA. During his under graduate course, Raghav was selected for a six-week Study Abroad Program at Birkbeck College, London. His team won a competition that involved creating a realistic and successful business plan. He dreams to create an environment where each and every child gets exposure, appropriate training and right direction in order to become sports stars of the next generation.

Mr. Bidhu Kalyan Das

Name: Mr. Bidhu Kalyan Das
City: Mumbai
Designation: Planning and Project Management
Organization: SPI Incubator, Mumbai
Work Experience: 3 years

Mr. Das is currently working as a Strategy lead in SPI Incubator, SPI Group. He joined the company in 2017 post his MBA and has contributed in projects across sectors like Education, Talent Management and Real Estate. He has gained significant experience in verticals involving business expansion, business diligence, and marketing. He has a deep interest in sports. Apart from the popular sport cricket, he pursues his passion in athletics, participating in several Marathons and the slightly offbeat but fast growing sport Parkour. He is passionate about understanding the sporting landscape and attends events such as Global Sports Shows every year. An avid reader of books related to sports, he enjoys sharing opinions and perspectives on social media through blogs and posts. Going forward he aspires to help organizations build a sporting culture, promote sports among local communities and contribute in various leadership roles.

Mr. Saieesh Mayya

Name: Mr. Saieesh Mayya
City: Navi Mumbai
Work Experience: 1 year

Mr. Mayya has completed his B.Tech in Computer Engineering from Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, Navi Mumbai. Being a sports management aspirant, he has completed three internships in this field; namely at SportzConsult, FIFA U-17 World Cup and DY Patil Sports Academy. He has experience of being associated with grass root football tournaments and organizing national level cricket tournaments during his internships. He was the President of the Sports Committee during his college tenure wherein he hosted and organized inter college sports events that witnessed participation from more than 30 colleges throughout Mumbai. He was given the responsibility of managing the competitions and player/referees during the FIFA U-17 World Cup. He has also been associated with DY Patil Club Cricket team as their interim team manager for their tournaments organized by Mumbai Cricket Association. He still serves as a mentor to the next Sports Committee of RAIT College, guiding them in efficiently conducting various sporting events.

Ms. Pankhurie Gupta

Name: Ms. Pankhurie Gupta
City: Delhi
Designation: Marketing Intern
Organization: Bhaichung Bhutia football schools
Work Experience: 2 months

Ms. Gupta is currently working with the marketing team of Bhaichung Bhutia football schools, New Delhi. She is responsible for Videography/Photography, Event and Faculty Management and also handles its social media. She received a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Multimedia and Mass Communication from Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi where she gained experience in video production, editing and graphic designing.She has led various competitive societies and possesses fine leadership skills. She has pursued dancing in Jazz, Ballet, and Hip-hop for years and is also familiar with beginner level Indian Sign Language. She has also worked with Mygoodtimes (formerly NDTV Goodtimes) as a digital production intern.

Mr. Nithin Mohan

Name: Mr. Nithin Mohan
City: Malappuram
Designation: U-15 Team Manager
Organization: Kerala Blasters Football Club
Work Experience: 3 years

Mr. Mohan is currently working as a Youth Team Sports Manager for Under -15 age category at Kerala Blasters FC. He has managed the team on many national youth football tournaments like AIFF Junior League and Subroto Mukherjee International Cup. He has also volunteered in coordinating various regional football grass root festivals. Nithin has worked as an engaging Client Relations professional, adept at supervising and training team in trekking activities and rock climbing that focussed on team building and experiential learning which inculcated Kurt Hahn educational philosophy. Lead through example with consistent work ethic, attitude, and professionalism, ensuring high-quality service, overseeing the operations of the organization and having a good level knowledge of sports strategies. He has conducted and organized workshops on team building that aimed at achieving team bonding skills, leadership skills, survival skills, team spirit and character building that helped in the holistic development of individuals.

Mr. Gourav Singh

Name: Mr. Gourav Singh
City: Bengaluru
Designation: On-boarding Specialist
Organization: Amazon
Work Experience: 2 years

Mr. Singh is working as on-boarding specialist at Amazon since August, 2018 where he helps on-board new sellers on platform for selling their products across India. His work involves creation of content as per company’s standard which customers will view while shopping on Amazon, helping sellers in running ad campaigns for boosting sales and providing complete training to make sellers self-sufficient for handling their own account.
He has also worked as Branded Sales Associate for Mallcom(India) Ltd. Dec 2017-June,2018. He was responsible for brand development and sales. He assisted his team for organizing seminars, running safety week campaigns and generating revenue through sales. He has completed Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from Asansol Engineering College (WBUT), India. He has been a regular part of college and school football team and my most notable wins are Sahodaya Football Tournament (2009) and Zone 1 Inter College Football Tournament (2017).

Mr. Ashwath Nair

Name: Mr. Ashwath Nair
City: Mumbai
Designation: Lawyer
Organization: Jayesh Vyas
Work Experience: 3 years

Mr. Nair is a lawyer by profession and has been in this field for around 3 years. In 2018-19, he completed his diploma in Sports Law from Gujarat National Law University and scored 81% in it. He also was selected as a research intern by Krida Legal (India’s leading firm in Sports litigation) in association with the U.K India Business Council, where he conducted a research experiment to explore the various contours of the Gaming Industries in India. He is a certified Level 1 Cricket Coach by the ICC Academy at Dubai (International Cricket Council). Besides Sports, he has also had practical experience in legal matters relating to Civil litigation and Conveyancing.

Mr. Rahul Gharpure

Name: Mr. Rahul Gharpure
City: Mumbai
Designation: Head – Football Academy
Organization: The Sports Gurukul
Work Experience: 1 year

Mr. Gharpure is a young sports management professional with a strong motivation for learning and development. He currently serves as the Head of Football Academy at The SportsGurukul based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, where he heads the operations and marketing of the academy along with the technical development of its football programme. He has extensive experience in operations management, grassroots development and marketing which is reflected through his work at AIFF Baby League, Western India Football Association (WIFA) and Mumbai District Football Association (MDFA).Having organized multiple leagues and tournaments and due to his close association with the FIFA U17 World Cup India, he possesses a holistic understanding of the sports events organisation and management. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from National Academy of Sports Management, Mumbai. His certifications like AIFF Grassroots Leaders Course and The FA Level 1 in Talent Identification and Psychology only add to his knowledge in coaching, player analysis and development.

Ms. Gauri Pawar

Name: Ms. Gauri Pawar
City: Mumbai
Designation: Project Coordinator
Organization: SportzConsult
Work Experience: 1 year

Ms Pawar is serving as a Project Coordinator at SportzConsult in Mumbai, India where she works on various sports programme catering to large set of audience which includes grassroots development, women development through sports and creating experiential sports events. Here she has led planning and execution of multiples ports events. Gauri has a Bachelor of Management Studies degree with a specialization in the marketing vertical from Jai Hind College,Mumbai. She also completed a Digital Marketing course offered by Google. She used to play football professionally and has also captained her club and her college team how ever due to an injury she was asked to stop pursuing football. Yet in order to keep her self connected with sports she began to volunteer for programmes that focused on women empowerment through sports. She has a dream to be the change in the sports industry and to pursue her passion and empower it through sports.

Mr. Snedden Medeira

Name: Mr. Snedden Medeira
City: Margao
Designation: Technical Program Coordinator
Organization: Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools
Work Experience: 1 year

After completing his graduation from Goa University in Bachelor of Commerce, in the year 2018, Mr. Medeira has recently completed a one year Diploma in Sports Coaching from Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior. He was actively involved in the conduction of various intramural competitions. As part of his curriculum of the Sports Coaching course, he has completed his two months internship at Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools, Delhi. During his internship period, he was able to actively assist in the coaching of players, as well as work under the technical team in the office.

Mr. Abin Joy

Name: Mr. Abin Joy
City: Ernakulam
Designation: Relationship Manager
Organization: Sporthood
Work Experience: 2 years

Mr. Joy is working in the Sports industry for the past two years and currently is the Relationship Manager at Sporthood. Heading a great team and providing quality coaching helped him to facilitate the center’s growth and expansion. Since 2017 he has worked as a Physical Education Trainer and provided coaching to more than 200 children in the age group of 3-15 years. He has also conducted more than 10 tournaments for both corporate and amateurs involving himself completely in its planning and execution. He has volunteered for U 17 FIFA World Cup and coordinated the Redbull Neymar Jr’s Five tournaments in Kochi. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering.

Mr. Roshan Surana

Name: Mr. Roshan Surana
City: Pune
Designation: DevOps Engineer
Organization: CloudCover, Inc.
Work Experience: 4 years

Mr. Surana is a DevOps Engineer at CloudCover, Pune, India, where his day- to-day tasks involve communicating with people across various levels & different cultures, understanding their requirements, and accordingly providing solutions for maintaining their infrastructure on the cloud. He received his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Information Technology from the Savitribai Phule Pune University, AISSMS IOIT, Pune. Being a member of the Student Association during his college days, he collaborated with other members to organize many tech fests & sports events in his college. He is very passionate about sports and follows Football and Cricket. According to him, sport isn’t just about athletics, it’s also about entertainment and there are many people who are working behind-the-scenes to make everything happen. He would love to play that role as it offers some of the same mental and emotional challenges as playing in a sports team. He aspires to be a part of the success of a team, franchise or an athlete and believes that he will enjoy working in one of the most vibrant and fun-filled industries in the world.

Mr. Balakrishnan Thevar

Name: Mr. Balakrishnan Thevar
City: Mumbai
Designation: Physical Education Professional
Work Experience: 6 years

Mr. Thevar has been working as a Physical Education professional since 2013. His role is to enhance physical activities, strength development, coordination, motor skills and also to encourage a healthy and balanced lifestyle in students. He has a D License certification course in Football under the aegis of All India Football Federation which has benefitted him in training the school students to form school football teams for District Sports Tournaments. He also trains students for various Athletic Meets. He has taken up coaching as a hobby to train young kids in Table Tennis and helps them participate in various tournaments.

Mr. Vishal Patil

Name: Mr. Vishal Patil
City: Navi Mumbai
Designation: Physical Education Professional
Organization: The Aditya Birla Integrated School
Work Experience: 7 years

Mr. Patil has a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and in Physical Education from Mumbai University. He has been working with International Schools as a PE teacher for the past six years, and now works with the Aditya Birla Integrated School where he is working with children with special needs. He is also an avid sportsman and represented Thane district basketball twice and played for his college at the Mumbai University Basketball Tournaments. He played handball for the Mumbai University Handball Team. Vishal is an ardent Iyengar Yoga practitioner and in addition to that he also does Crossfit, Callisthenic, Cycling and Running. He has secured 2nd and 3rd place consecutively in Fitness Physique Competition held at his college. Being the physical education teacher Vishal is responsible for planning, developing, delivering and evaluating appropriate individualized educational services, learning programs and instruction for special needs students in both self-contained and integrated setting in consultation with other school personnel.

Mr. Shibajee Das

Name: Mr. Shibajee Das
City: Delhi
Designation: Sports Writer
Organization: Sports Flashes
Work Experience: 2 years

Mr. Das currently works as a sports journalist for Sports Flashes, the official audio broadcast partner of Premier League in India and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). In 2019, he completed his Post-Graduation in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi. He received a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English literature from the North Bengal University at Siliguri. He has contributed in various lab journals during his time at IIMC. He has also attended British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) programme on Fake News. He has attended and contributed in the National Seminar on Indian languages. He participated in the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund’s (UNICEF) two-day workshop on Health Journalism, which was jointly organized by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2019.

Mr. Jeetu RaviKumar

Name: Mr. Jeetu Ravikumar
City: Bengaluru
Designation: Social Media Analyst
Organization: Engage Digital Partners
Work Experience: 2 years

Mr. Kumar is an intern with a sports media company for the past few months. Having managed social media for clients like Chelsea, Major League Baseball and an in house channel about Indian Football, he is well aware of the impact of media in this day and age. Having also worked in a startup, he is excited by the energy around new ventures and fast changing environments in media. He is an avid follower of sports, especially football and is well aware of the changing trends in sport around the world and is eager to make a mark for himself. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering from Sichuan University, Chengdu in China where he was also able to interact and learn about sporting cultures across the world. With the growth of sport in India, he wants to facilitate and help in developing world class athletes.

Mr. Kanhay Kubal

Name: Mr. Kanhay Kubal
City: Mumbai
Designation: Business Development and Implementation Analyst
Organization: Samhita Social Ventures, Mumbai
Work Experience: 1 year

Mr. Kubal is currently working in a CSR Consulting firm where he is responsible for Business Development, leveraging partnerships with corporate and NGOs and ensuring effective implementation of the projects in diverse domains. Having done Gandhi Fellowship in a tribal district, he got hands on experience of how education is at the grassroots and likewise designed projects which could integrate sports into the mainstream education. He has been writing articles on sports since school wherein one of his articles on ‘Penalty Shots: Is it fair?’ got published in the Times of India Student Edition. Showcasing his skills in more than 12 sports at the Mumbai University, he won Gold medal in Table tennis, Silver medal in Softball and Bronze medal in Lawn Tennis. As a Junior Under Officer in National Cadet Corps, he was a member of the Mumbai A U-21 winning team at the Inter State Football Tournament.

Mr. Vinay Nair

Name: Mr. Vinay Nair
City: Mumbai
Designation: Key Account Manager
Organization: Paytm
Work Experience: 9 years

Mr. Nair is an MBA with extensive experience in the sales and marketing profile in various start-ups. He has showcased capability in developing institutional relationships as well as garnering repeat business from existing clients. While continuing to build on his competence to sustain his professional career, he has always held a strong interest in pursuing a career in sports. He has supplemented his interest by avidly following the sporting culture in India as well as keeping up with the global trends, and being able to have an opinion around the same. Having pursued multiple opportunities with various sports management agencies, he figured how he needs to complement his skill sets with better subject matter knowledge and started looking for avenues to learn the nuances of the industry. The FIFA CIES executive course will be an encouraging start to fuel Mr. Nair’s foray into the sports business arena by providing him a platform to improve his proficiency and further his social networking in the industry.