Jalaj Dani Urges Corporate India To Own Sports

Jalaj Dani, President of SPORTSCOM, has called for a fundamental shift in the way Corporate India engages with Indian sport. Speaking at IAMGAME 2026, Dani urged businesses to move beyond sponsorships and take long-term ownership of sporting properties, institutions, and talent development.

Dani argued that while India has built one of the world’s most commercially successful sporting properties in the IPL, the country continues to struggle to build the institutional foundations required to become a true sporting nation. He pointed to the contrast between the IPL’s estimated $20 billion valuation and India’s six medals at the Paris Olympics, highlighting a fundamental gap in India’s sporting ecosystem.

According to Dani, Corporate India has traditionally treated sport as something to “rent” through jerseys, athlete endorsements, and associations with established winners. He drew a distinction between sponsorship and ownership, saying that a sponsor asks what a sport can do for their brand, while an owner asks what their institution can do for the sport.

Dani emphasized that sponsorship is necessary but insufficient, as lasting sporting ecosystems require investment in academies, coaching, talent identification, sports science, and institutions that can develop athletes before they become champions. He cited Japan as an example, where corporations have historically played a deeper role in building sporting institutions.

Dani also shared his own experience of investing in and building properties such as Ultimate Table Tennis and Chennaiyin FC. He said the decision to invest in sports that did not already have a large audience was deliberate, as he believes that to build India into a sporting nation, it is necessary to build the audience, institutions, and give athletes a platform to grow.

Dani proposed an ambitious vision in which India’s 100 largest corporations could each adopt a sport as a long-term institutional commitment, spanning disciplines such as hockey, football, wrestling, boxing, badminton, swimming, archery, and para-sport. Such investments, he said, could create academies, specialist coaching, grassroots talent identification, and high-performance systems over the next decade.

Dani also emphasized the role of Corporate India in creating a pathway for talent identified through national and grassroots programmes. With the government focusing on identifying sporting talent among children aged 5–15, Dani argued that the next challenge is creating institutions capable of nurturing that talent.

For every successful athlete, Dani said, there are thousands of children with the same gift who were never found, attributing the gap not to a lack of talent but to a lack of institutions capable of identifying and developing it. He believes that Corporate India can play a crucial role in addressing this gap and helping India become a true sporting nation.

In conclusion, Dani’s call to action is a significant one, and it remains to be seen how Corporate India will respond to his urging. However, one thing is clear: for India to become a sporting nation, it will require a fundamental shift in the way businesses engage with sports, from sponsorship to ownership and investment in institutions and talent development.

The potential impact of such a shift could be significant, not just for Indian sports but for the country as a whole. By investing in sports and developing a strong sporting ecosystem, India can create new opportunities for athletes, build a stronger sense of national pride, and develop a more vibrant and diverse sporting culture.

Ultimately, the success of Dani’s vision will depend on the willingness of Corporate India to take a long-term view and invest in the development of Indian sports. However, if they do, the potential rewards could be substantial, and India could finally realize its potential as a sporting nation.

As Dani said, the time has come for Corporate India to move beyond sponsorship and take ownership of Indian sports. The question is, will they answer the call?