Sport as an impact sector will strengthen Aus-India ties

Australia as a sport loving nation has a pivotal role to play in this regard. It encourages an outdoor lifestyle in the community to achieve a work-life balance and connect physical and mental fitness with nature and sports. Australia’s leadership in sporting excellence is respected globally. During his visit to Australia in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi underlined Australia’s contribution and leadership in sports and recommended bolstering bilateral cooperation in sport. Peter Varghese’s report An India Economic Strategy to 2035 also mentioned, “India already looks to Australia as a model in sports for achieving results. Supporting India’s sports agenda can help Australia entrench positive relationships with India government and businesses”. India’s growing $350 million Khelo India Khelo sports ecosystem beholds enormous opportunity for Australian stakeholders, which the AIBC can help facilitate.

Following Prime Minister Modi’s 27 September 2014 speech in the United Nations General Assembly, India’s stellar leadership in yoga has been recognised by the United Nations, declaring 21 June as International Day of Yoga. India’s proposal had received the support and co-sponsorship of 177 nations, a record. Images of mass yoga events from around the world make the headlines every year and Australia can benefit from India’s excellence in yoga. An MoU in sports cooperation exists between the two sides signed in 1999 that needs to be expanded and include the wellness industry.

India’s sport ecosystem currently faces several challenges, inter alia, inefficient resource allocation; social and economic inequalities; inadequate sporting infrastructure; organisational, regulatory and administrative inefficiencies; gender discrimination; and corruption across sporting codes. Over the years Australia has been addressing some of these challenges through training to Indian officials in sports administration, sports education, sports science and capacity building to several Indian sports departments, associations and federations. Spearheaded by the Australian Sports Commission, Australia has been contributing to ‘increasing the capacity to planning and conducting quality sport-based activities" and contributing to the ‘locally identified development priorities" which is encouraging the participation of marginalised children and youth in sports and using sports to improve livelihoods.

Corruption in sports remains a potent challenge to many nations including India, which can benefit from best practices in preserving integrity in sport from Australia, where sporting codes, regulatory bodies and law enforcement agencies work closely to preserve integrity in sport. As India’s global footprint in sport expands it needs to constitute policy mechanisms and sport practices to keep sports clean.

The 2021 tour of the Indian women’s cricket team to Australia is a timely and a great opportunity to build sports engagements further and create a more conducive atmosphere for the larger Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Sport as an impact sector has a key role to play is shaping perceptions on both sides, and together, both sides can leverage sport to create a better future for bilateral ties.