FICCI Sports Committee launches 2025 agenda to strengthen sports ecosystem

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Sports Committee held its inaugural meeting for 2025, marking a significant step towards strengthening India’s sports ecosystem with a wide representation of over 22 industry leaders. The session commenced with the induction of the chairperson, co-chairs, secretary, and the introduction of new members, each bringing a wealth of experience and passion to the committee.

In his opening remarks, PKSV Sagar, Chairman of the FICCI Sports Committee and President of GMR Sports, emphasized the importance of diversifying India’s sports focus beyond cricket. He stated, “I appreciate we are finally moving forward from cricket in India and promoting other sports as well. Passion for other sports will help India achieve its milestone of 2036 Olympics, which celebrates every sport. It is important for us to bridge industry with governance to align our efforts to work as a collective for the betterment of sports in India.”

Sanjay Adesara, Co-Chair of the FICCI Sports Committee and CBO for Adani Sportsline noted, “It is a crucial time for us to come together as a think tank and produce meaningful dialogue and outcomes. I look forward to our members being able to productively bring together intent with governance in a common direction to make India a sporting superpower.”

Sagar further remarked, “FICCI currently has the best members representing sports. It’s a huge opportunity for all members to come together, who have been working independently to develop sports in India. Through various platforms and events, we can build a meaningful calendar of initiatives.”

The committee outlined its focus agenda for the year, emphasizing the activation of state committees and alignment with both state and central government initiatives. Discussions centred on the importance of infrastructure development and volunteer management, India’s preparedness to host international sporting events of scale and the vision for the 2036 Olympics. Co-Chair of the FICCI Sports Committee and Vice President, Manav Rachna Group, Dr. Amit Bhalla highlighted the need to learn from global events, stating, “We need to learn from the Paris Olympics, strategize what events we should host first, and build an ecosystem to identify international standards of sports.”

The meeting also announced that “TURF 2025,” FICCI’s flagship sports summit, is scheduled for November 14, 2025. This year, FICCI plans to bring more international speakers and partner with various Indian states, including Odisha, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh. The committee emphasized decentralizing the national agenda into state-specific initiatives, defining roles and responsibilities for both national and state committees, and initiating dialogues with various states to structure these efforts effectively.

The meeting concluded with discussions on learning from countries like Saudi Arabia, which have recently invested significantly in developing their sports infrastructure. The year ahead will see a rich output from the FICCI Sports Committee in the form of white papers, studies, expert sessions and meaningful events and dialogues.

The newly updated membership of the committee is the widest representation across key stakeholders who are actively involved in sports.

FICCI SPORTS COMMITTEE 2025 MEMBERS: