Roger Federer is coming back to US Open four years after retirement, set for two blockbuster matches US Open confirmed Roger Federer's return on Sunday, and he will be joined by three other tennis greats Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 13:25:16 IST Written by Aratrick Mondal Prefer HTon Google Share
Nerves cost us against Australia, but I'm proud of the team: women's hockey coach: Marijne Nerves cost us against Australia, but I'm proud of the team: women's hockey coach: Marijne Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 13:09:14 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Amstelveen
After seventh seed Victor Lai fell in three games to ninth seed Alex Lanier at the 2026 BWF World Championships in New Delhi, the former described the Frenchman as a ‘beast’, lauding his physical fitness and tenacity to go the distance and play the long game
India men’s football team will face Panama in a FIFA international friendly in September, ahead of another friendly against five-time FIFA World Cup winners Brazil in Kolkata on October 3. According to a report by The Times of India, the match between India and the North American side is
Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has ruled himself out of the running to replace Gianni Infantino, but says he expects a candidate to challenge the Fifa president's leadership in March. Infantino has faced calls to step down after he scrapped a controversial plan to sell off stakes in Fifa's
India’s sports boom is just getting started
India is a major sports market, with cricket leading the way. The nation's sports economy is rapidly expanding. The focus now shifts to broadening this success beyond cricket. Developing new leagues, revenue models, and fan engagement strategies will be key. This diversification will create a more resilient and deeper sports ecosystem for India's future growth.
India no longer needs validation as a major sports market. It already is one.
Cricket settled that question. The scale of audiences, the value of media rights, the depth of sponsorship demand, and the intensity of fan engagement have created one of the most powerful sporting ecosystems in the world. The Indian Premier League’s 2022 media rights auction generated roughly $6.2 billion for five seasons, more than doubling the value of the previous cycle and underlining how quickly India’s sports economy is scaling1.
What this success also shows is that the value of sport no longer sits only in the match itself. The live event remains the anchor, but the larger opportunity increasingly lies in everything built around it: storytelling, distribution, data, community and year-round relevance.
What was once viewed primarily as passion or entertainment is now clearly a serious economic force. The important questions now are about what comes next. Can India translate sporting success in one dominant category into a broader, more diversified sports economy? Can it build new leagues, new revenue models, new infrastructure, and new forms of fan participation that extend beyond cricket while learning from its success?
The opportunity is enormous.
Cricket was the proof of concept
Every growth market needs a demonstration case. In India, cricket has been just that.
It has shown that when sport is organised professionally and supported by strong media distribution, compelling narratives, and commercial discipline, value can scale rapidly. It has also shown that sport creates economic effects far beyond the field of play.
Broadcasting, streaming, sponsorship, hospitality, merchandising, data analytics, ticketing, travel, advertising, and creator-led media all benefit from a thriving sports property. Strong leagues do not only entertain audiences. They support jobs, attract investment, and stimulate adjacent industries.
This experience should not be confined to cricket alone.
The next opportunity is multi-sport growth
Across India, there are clear signs that demand for broader sporting experiences is growing.
Kabaddi has already demonstrated the power of local identity and modern packaging. Football continues to attract young audiences and brand interest. Volleyball, basketball, combat sports, and endurance formats all have room to grow. Women’s sport, in particular, may become one of the most important long-term opportunities of all.
This matters because diversified sports markets are more resilient than single-sport markets. They create multiple revenue streams, engage different communities, and offer brands a wider range of partnerships. They also create more pathways for talent.
A healthy sports economy isn’t measured only by the value of one league. It is measured by the depth of the ecosystem around it.
Why leagues matter more than individual teams
Sports investment is often discussed through the lens of franchise valuations or celebrity ownership. Those stories attract big headlines. But long-term value is created in the systems that allow entire competitions to grow.
Well-run leagues can standardise governance, improve scheduling, centralise data, raise production quality, strengthen competitive integrity, and package commercial rights more effectively. They can create consistency for broadcasters, confidence for sponsors, and better experiences for fans.
They also do something less visible but just as important. They reduce friction, improve discoverability and turn fan attention into a more durable commercial system.
In fragmented markets, clubs may succeed individually while the wider ecosystem lags. In aligned markets, the success of one participant can raise the value of the entire category. That is why league-level thinking matters.Why investors and businesses need to pay attention
For investors, sport is increasingly attractive because it combines scarce assets, loyal communities, and expanding media opportunities. Fans don’t behave like ordinary consumers. They return repeatedly, care deeply, and build identity around what they follow. This creates lasting engagement.
For businesses, sport offers something equally valuable: attention at scale. In a crowded digital environment, sport no longer competes only with other sports. It competes with every notification on a fan’s phone. Live sport remains one of the few forms of content consumed in real time and discussed collectively.
India adds further advantages: it is now the world’s most populous country, has one of the youngest major populations globally, and internet users are expected to exceed 900 million over the next few years2. These are strong foundations for long-term growth.
But scale alone is not enough. For many fans, especially younger ones, the barrier is not willingness to pay but friction: too many platforms, too much fragmentation, and too little convenience. Markets that make sport easier to discover, follow, and engage with will be better placed to capture long-term value.
What India can build differently
India doesn’t need to replicate older sports markets. In many areas, it can leapfrog them.
Mobile-first fan products, direct-to-consumer memberships, creator-led storytelling, vernacular content and data-driven engagement may all develop faster in India than in more mature markets tied to legacy systems. The real opportunity is not simply to broadcast more sport, but to understand audiences more precisely and serve them better. In that sense, data is not just a metric, but a way of understanding loyalty, behaviour, and future demand.
Women’s sport is another area where the future need not resemble the past. New leagues can be designed with modern audiences, commercial clarity and equal ambition from day one. That is often easier than trying to retrofit old structures.
A bigger economic opportunity
Sport is sometimes treated as a cultural extra, important but secondary to the real economy. That view is outdated. Sport is infrastructure for attention, community, commerce, and national brand-building. It creates jobs, shapes cities, drives tourism, and builds globally-recognised intellectual property.
India has already built a sports giant. The next chapter is to build a sports economy of even greater breadth and depth. The countries that lead in the future will not only be those with winning teams. They will be those that understand sport as a serious long-term industry.
India is well placed to be one of them.This article has been contributed by Nicole Junkermann, founder of Gameday by NJF Holdings.
Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source
Source: EconomicTimes
Related Posts: india,njf holdings,kabaddi,gameday,differentlyindia,premier,til
Barcelona began their La Liga title defence with a commanding 5-0 victory over Elche on Sunday, with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez scoring twice each and Anthony Gordon setting up two goals on his debut. The result comea a day after Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid defeated Espanyol 2-1 with a late winner
11 hours ago
GCT Grand Finale: Praggnanandhaa beats Keymer to stake his claim for finals GCT Grand Finale: Praggnanandhaa beats Keymer to stake his claim for finals Published on: Aug 24, 2026, 09:43:17 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link St. Louis
11 hours ago
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin may have been vocal in his demand for the current FIFA president Gianni Infantino to step down but he has no interest in replacing the under-fire Swiss. Infantino continues to face pressure to leave his position as world football’s governing body chief following
11 hours ago
The French are known for a lot of things but badminton isn’t one of them. Till Sunday, when the country that has never been considered among the top nations even in Europe created history at the 2026 World championships, in more ways than one
11 hours ago
AITA picked them, the government cut them: Why has India’s Asian Games tennis squad been slashed from 12 to 7? The AITA had originally proposed a 12-member squad for for the Asian Games, which included six women. But the list was slashed down to just seven players. Updated on: Aug 24, 2026
11 hours ago
Ashton Jeanty injury update: Is the Raiders RB out for the season? Doctor reveals possible diagnoses; ‘best case…’ Ashton Jeanty was injured after attempting a catch, prompting a tense silence at the Raiders’ facility before his teammates gathered and knelt in prayer. Updated on: Aug 24
14 hours ago
When Liverpool came to Newcastle last August, there was utter jubilation as Rio Ngumoha scored a remarkable 100th-minute winner. They scored late again this time around, through Dominik Szoboszlai's 99th-minute penalty, but it felt more like a sense of relief than joy as they rescued a point
14 hours ago
'Is Sydney Taylor playing tonight?' Chicago Sky guard's slow start vs Fever sparks injury concerns Sydney Taylor was in Chicago’s starting lineup when the Sky hosted the Indiana Fever on Sunday night. Updated on: Aug 24, 2026, 07:32:12 IST By Ojas Jaiswal Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link
14 hours ago
Yet again, the England men's cricket team is picking through the wreckage of a late-night misdemeanour. The latest stain on the game's reputation is a result of pictures of fast bowler Brydon Carse in handcuffs and surrounded by police officers outside a nightspot in Derby
14 hours ago
Jean-Philippe Mateta is arguing the remainder of his Crystal Palace contract is invalid and has taken his case to Fifa. Multiple sources have told BBC Sport the France international has launched an official challenge over the validity of the final 10 months on his Selhurst Park deal
1 days ago
Bangladesh 64: Starc 6-12 & 95: Shanto 31; Starc 4-39, Cummins 3-10, Lyon 3-25 Mitchell Starc took 10 wickets in the match as Australia bounced back from last week's shock defeat by Bangladesh to win the second Test by an innings and 51 runs and draw the series 1-1. Second Test
1 days ago
Jannik Sinner's absence benefits Carlos Alcaraz: What to expect from the US Open champion after his long injury layoff Jannik Sinner is out, but is it premature to call Carlos Alcaraz the US Open favourite after four months away? Updated on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
US Open leaves Stan Wawrinka out in the cold, denying former champion a wild card for his final Grand Slam The US Open has surprisingly denied Stan Wawrinka a wild card for what could be his final appearance at a Grand Slam. Updated on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
India faced the Netherlands in their Pool E match of the ongoing FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2026 on Saturday (August 22) at the Wagener Stadium in Amstelveen but suffered a 1-3 defeat. India conceded one goal in the third quarter and two in the fourth quarter to go down against the hosts
1 days ago
There is an uncanny resemblance between Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa’s bronze-medal run at the 2011 BWF World Championships and Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand’s campaign at the 2026 edition. Jwala and Ashwini faced the second-seeded Cheng Wen-hsing and Chien Yu-chin as early as the
1 days ago
Runs on the board and rival wickets, is the template that Dhananjaya de Silva will chase when the second Test commences at the SSC Ground on Sunday (August 23, 2026). “It’s about putting runs on the board. That’s what India did [at Galle]. For the first two days they batted and got 460 runs
1 days ago
Serena Williams returns to US Open after four years, joins Carlos Alcaraz for mixed doubles Serena Williams will return to the US Open for the first time since 2022, partnering Carlos Alcaraz in mixed doubles after receiving a wildcard. Published on: Aug 23, 2026
1 days ago
Roberto De Zerbi may have spent close to £400m by the time his Tottenham Hotspur rebuild is complete – but it took just his side's first Premier League game of the season to prove all the money in the world is no guaranteed cure for a losing mentality
1 days ago
Manchester United's fans had endured a bad enough day on the banks of the River Humber when Hull City's stadium announcer gleefully piped up midway through the second half. Two trains back to Manchester from the city centre station had been cancelled
1 days ago
From a shy girl to team mentor, Savita Punia says hockey changed her life From a shy girl to team mentor, Savita Punia says hockey changed her life Published on: Aug 22, 2026, 12:08:49 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Amstelveen
2 days ago
Shubhankar makes cut after spectacular ace at Nexo Championship Shubhankar makes cut after spectacular ace at Nexo Championship Published on: Aug 22, 2026, 12:17:58 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Aberdeenshire , Shubhankar Sharma ended his streak of four missed cuts as he made the
2 days ago
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi has been fined for slapping Philadelphia Union's Quinn Sullivan during their side's Major League Soccer (MLS) 2-2 draw on Wednesday. Messi, 39, slapped Sullivan around the back of the head towards the end of the game as he complained the Union player had elbowed him after
2 days ago
Premier League champions Arsenal will start the new season with some of the nightmares of the previous two as their marquee signing, midfielder Bruno Guimarães, is not part of the squad due to an injury. Guimarães signed for £75 million (Rs. 979 crore) from Newcastle United and suffered a knock
2 days ago
Nostalgia may have enveloped Sairaj Bahutule when he entered the SSC Ground. He would have remembered his last Test played at the same venue in 2001, a game India lost. The Indian spin-bowling coach, though, quickly immersed himself in the nets here Friday (August 21, 2026)
2 days ago
Lionel Messi fined for slapping opponent on the head as Inter Miami-Philadelphia clash erupts into late red-card chaos Lionel Messi was fined by MLS after slapping Philadelphia's Quinn Sullivan on the head as Inter Miami's 2-2 draw desecended into stoppage-time chaos. Updated on: Aug 22, 2026
2 days ago
Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra managed to deliver his season’s best performance at the Lausanne Diamond League on Friday but fell agonisingly short of the top spot, as Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage finished first with a throw just nine centimetres more than his
2 days ago
Why did Nick Chubb retire? Net worth in focus as NFL player ends career at 30 Nick Chubb played for eight seasons in NFL that included seven years with the Cleveland Browns and one with the Houston Texans. Updated on: Aug 22, 2026, 09:25:09 IST By Shirin Gupta Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link
2 days ago
