GoSports: Developing Sports Talent to Create Role Models

The case, GoSports: Developing Sports Talent to Create Role Models, describes the evolution of an Indian not-for-profit organization GoSports, whose mission is to identify high quality sporting talent and provide them necessary support so that they can excel in international sporting competitions and win laurels for the country. Despite being a nation of 1.3 billion people with no dearth of talent, India’s performance in international sporting events have been modest. This is because of multiple structural factors such as lack of hard and soft infrastructure for promoting sports, inadequate financial support from the government and private sector as well as absence of career options for sportspeople after an active career. GoSports has positioned itself as a bridging organization that would provide the necessary encouragement to talented sportspersons until they become famous enough to receive adequate support from the government or the private sector. Being a pioneer in this field, GoSports’ journey exemplifies how an organization sets about creating an ecosystem for sports in a country where multiple economic, social and cultural barriers have traditionally prevented sports from getting its due importance in nation building. Learning from its initial failures to build a for-profit talent management organization, GoSports concentrated on raising funds from the corporate sector through their athlete-focused development programs, many of which were mentored by highly acclaimed role models from the world of sports. In parallel, GoSports created a network of support services comprising coaches, nutritionists, and sports scientists – all of whom played important roles in ensuring optimum performance from sportspersons. Dedicated athlete managers from GoSports maintained a trust-based relationship with the sportspersons such that every young sportsperson felt assured there was someone to help them deal with the myriad challenges in their intensely competitive domain.

GoSports also worked closely with state governments and national federations in creating knowledge resources for sportspeople as well as influencing policies. The case ends on a positive note, mentioning the encouraging development in the country’s sporting ecosystem and reflects upon the role that GoSports should play in continuing with its mission of enabling sporting excellence in India.