On November 14, world’s first ever city level sports festival, Mumbai Games was launched today at the St. Regis, Lower Parel in the presence of National Chief Badminton Coach Pullela Gopichand. Mumbai Games is a franchise based, multi-sport and multi-age group extravaganza that is set to inspire the citizens of the metropolitan city to get out of their houses and take up sports.
Mumbai Games has been conceptualized by SportzConsult based on 15 years of experience of working with federations, brands, governments and education institutes engaging 4.5 million people annually in sports.
SportzConsult, India’s premier sports management company, was founded in 2003 with the vision to get more amateurs to play and transform India into a sporty nation. Over the last 15 years, SportzConsult has worked relentlessly with federations, brands, leagues, governments and schools.
This is an absolutely unique concept for India. This will ensure that people do not just enjoy watching sports on TV / Mobile but also to experience the joy of playing. One need not be great at a sport to experience the magic of sport. I believe what Marathons have done for running as a sport, City Games will do for all the other sport. Mumbai Games has the potential to achieve this success and I congratulate them for this endeavour,” said Pullela Gopichand.
The format of the game is as follows:
Mumbai will be divided into eight Contingents across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region ranging from Virar to Churchgate to Navi Mumbai and Thane region. Participants residing in a region will be assigned a Contingent based on his / her pin code. The format will allow the participant to go beyond themselves or their sports team and to represent their contingent / ‘ilaaka’ as a Mumbaikar would say.
The Mumbai Games will follow a first-of-its-kind franchise model for amateur sports, where each Contingent will be owned by a franchise owner – people who are passionate about sports. The model will create a bigger platform and increase participation by allowing to go hyper-local.
The players will be divided into two divisions Elite & Amateur, wherein the participation in the Elite division will include a pool of top-seeded players which will be created and will be assigned to the teams through an auction. By watching these players play and prepare, young players can learn and get inspired.
To give an opportunity for the amateurs to compete with the players of their own level, Mumbai Games will have two Cups in the Amateur Division. This will make the competition more fun and a thrilling experience. Plus, league format allows more games and therefore more fun!
Meanwhile, Jitendra Joshi, the Co-Founder & Director of SportzConsult is the mastermind behind the interactive sports project. Speaking about Mumbai Games, he said,
"We believe in the immense power of sports. At the individual level, it has the power to provide 3H – Health Happiness and Holistic Education. And at the Community level, City level and at the Country level, it has the power to bind people. When people play, they don’t care of race, religion, social status. Sports is a unique unifier and it is with that belief, SportzConsult is launching the City Games and starting with Mumbai Games and subsequently launch other cities. We are glad to have champions like Pullela Gopichand, Anjali Bhagwat and Viren Rasquinha, who subscribe to our view and mission and are part of the Governing Council.”
Mumbai Games is a first of its kind and will have a series of ‘Firsts’ that have been integrated into amateur sports. All this will add to the participant’s experience and journey. The magnanimity of Mumbai Games will not only ensure that it is a Grand Sports Extravaganza but also a festival where the city is going to bond over sports. Participants of all ages can take part in the 16 games which will be played over 12 weekends, starting December 14, 2018.
So, Mumbai is all set to practice, prepare and play. Are you?
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