Sports brings together people from all walks of life and acts as a leveller. And be it India or globally, it is not just about the world championships and tournaments or national level events, but also at the grassroots level that the growth and transformation of sports marketing and experiences is evident.
Sports For All (SFA), a tech-enabled multi-sport grassroots competition platform, aims to make the youth fall in love with sports through inspiring and joyful sporting experiences. Founders Rishikesh Joshi and Vishwas Choksi, since the inception of SFA in 2015, have focused on transforming and mobilising school sporting championships in the country.
SFA Championships, SFA’s flagship IP, brings forth the potential of large-scale multi-sporting competitions propelled by tech and data analytics. Being phygital in nature, the SFA Championships identify sporting potential at the grassroots level.
SFA is empanelled with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), and has been the official partner of the Indian Olympic Association, enabling support for the Indian contingent to the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022, and Asian Games 2022. In the year 2023, SFA signed on as the ‘Powered By’ sponsor for the Khelo India Youth Games, for the next five years.
Managing business operations for over seven years, Rajas Joshi, Founding Member & COO, SFA believes that the right sporting experience for youth, coupled with a technology-powered system will enable building a sporting culture in India. Having worked on various international and national sporting properties across more than a decade, he believes sport is the greatest medium to shape the youth of India and SFA will play a vital role in realising the dream of making this country a sporting powerhouse.
Talking exclusively to Everything Experiential, Joshi outlines SFA’s differentiating strategy, the role of SFA Championships in turning the dreams of athletes into reality at the grassroots level, the significance of tech innovation for SFA and more.
Edited excerpts:
SFA has made a name for itself in India as a major grassroots sports platform. How does SFA's strategy differ from that of other sports ecosystems?
Our aim at SFA is to build a culture of sport and sporting excellence by providing access and opportunities for the youth. We do that by organising the country’s largest multi-sport school Championships for youth between 3 to 18 years of age, but is more about building a community and encouraging a mindset geared towards physical activity rather than simply organising events.
One of the most innovative initiatives in school has been the SFA Championships. How have these championships affected the goals and aspirations of young athletes?
At Sports For All we are passionate about equitable access as irrespective of age, gender, education board or socio-economic status, our platform provides equal access to every athlete with the opportunity to take a step towards achieving their sporting dreams. At the SFA Championships, 10 per cent of participation is reserved for athletes who come from underprivileged backgrounds and can compete free of charge. Geographically, the SFA Championships are held in 10 cities across India and this year will make its entry into North Eastern India. SFA is also dedicated to bridging the gender gap and reserves a day called ‘She is Gold Day’ in every city where more than 80 per cent of the draws are of female athletes.
The use of technology in sports by SFA has drawn notice. In what ways does the platform use technology to promote inclusivity and improve athlete experiences?
SFA’s tech-focused approach allows us to proudly claim that in the last nine years we have been able to capture 8 million data points from our database. Through our proprietary athlete assessment platform (SFA Check) and our globally relevant Games Management System (SFA GMS) we are able to track an athlete’s journey digitally throughout the year and in the competition as well. Our AI-enabled video streaming platform on SFAPlay.com also allows us to watch these same athletes live. This year alone we have been broadcasting over 20,000 matches live in our city Championships.
A major factor in producing memorable sporting events is experiential marketing. In what ways does SFA use experiential tactics to interact with parents, brands, and participants?
Through the SFA Championships, participants and visitors can enjoy music, immersive games and food at the Experience Zone. There are special games that are for parents, some activities that include parents and children. Just the presence of so many athletes competing in varied disciplines under one umbrella guarantees that every athlete’s horizon is widened.
What challenges does SFA have to overcome in order to support grassroots sports and close the gap between aspiring athletes and professional opportunities?
Everything begins with changing the mindset towards sport. Apart from creating an athlete-centred ecosystem, SFA is also striving to create a hub for grassroots sporting content with access to high-quality content that provides exposure to athletes, parents of athletes, coaches, schools and other stakeholders to upskill and educate themselves while enjoying sport as a part of their everyday experience.
What do you think the future holds for grassroots sports in India as SFA grows, and how do you envision experiential projects advancing this vision?
Combining surging participation and focused talent discovery, SFA is building a platform to accelerate India’s dream to the Olympics as a sporting powerhouse. By 2028, the SFA ecosystem will be connecting and engaging over 25,000 schools, 40 lakh athletes, 1.25 lakh coaches across, 2500+ sport associations, and 50,000+ technical officials across 45+ sports disciplines. SFA’s ‘Ab Jeetega India’ movement will be able to build a formidable grassroots ecosystem for our future generations.
