The Cabinet has put USD 194.8 million (INR 1,857 Crs.) behind sports goods manufacturing over eight years. We read the scheme, the report underneath it and India’s own customs data. The industry it funds is not the one most of the coverage thinks it is, and its exports have not grown in a decade.
Two industries get called the same thing, and they are about five times apart. Sports goods — apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories — was worth roughly USD 700bn globally in 2024. Sports equipment alone, the hardware, was worth about USD 140bn. The USD 140bn figure now circulating as “the global sports goods market” is the equipment market, and the equipment market is what this scheme funds.
That distinction decides who can use the money. Fitness and gym equipment is inside the government’s definition. Sportswear, athletic footwear and accessories are outside it — which puts the eligibility of the one Indian company with the balance sheet to anchor a zone in doubt.
India’s own government publishes two different export figures. The Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics records USD 196.75m for FY2024-25. NITI Aayog and the Press Information Bureau use USD 275m. We print both. And on the customs number, India’s sports equipment exports have not grown in a decade.
Twelve matchdays into a 163-match season, the ISL has not published attendance for a single match. Of 27 league-level partners across the three competitions, three have a disclosed value. And the only national count of who plays, coaches or referees football in India had to be extracted by RTI.
Read the full story — 7 min →
A boundary wall in Cooch Behar. Ten per cent of a running track in Assam for 86% of the money. A stadium in Shimla incomplete after eighteen years. The mechanism is the same everywhere: administrative approval granted before anyone confirms the money exists.
Read the full story — 7 min →
All of Indian women’s football sold for INR 4.54 crore in Year 1 — 7.1% of the men’s bid, on a single bid. Capri Sports has built the largest private commitment to women’s sport in India. Five things have to change before any of it becomes a revenue line.
Read the full story — 6 min →
Flamengo put its own loss at up to R$430m. São Paulo disclosed that betting was 73% of its marketing revenue. No Indian league, club or federation has disclosed anything comparable about the 2025 gaming ban.
Read the full story — 4 min →Mandaviya, 27 October: an amendment adding criminal provisions for coaches and supply chain stakeholders goes to the next session of Parliament. NADA ran over 7,000 tests in 2025-26 and reached 27,000 people through education. It has not disclosed how many tests were positive.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court put the BFI's 28 October general body meeting in abeyance. Both camps met anyway — challengers with 27 representatives calling for Ajay Singh's removal, and the BFI with 21 of its 35 authorised state units. Next hearing 13 November.
Manisha Bhanwala came from 0-6 down to beat Abigail Nette 8-6 in Astana on 30 October, and is India's first woman world champion. Neelam Sirohi and Kajal Dhochak took silver. No cash award has been announced by the federation, the ministry or Haryana.
Virat Kohli's stake in Agilitas rises from 1.8% to 6.4% after NCLT approval of the One8 Sports merger, announced 29 October. Consideration, swap ratio and valuation are all undisclosed. Agilitas makes footwear, which the scheme in this week's lead excludes.
Racing returns to the Buddh International Circuit this weekend after thirteen years: F4 Round 4 on Saturday, Indian Racing League Round 2 on Sunday. Luviwe Sambudla leads the F4 standings on 138 points. No circuit hire cost, promoter figures, broadcaster or attendance published.
Milan and Inter sold the new San Siro's naming rights to Generali for EUR 650m (USD 725m / INR 6,912 Crs.) over 20 years. Capacity 71,500, construction from 2028, first match targeted 2031-32. Two private-equity-owned clubs monetised a stadium that does not exist yet.
McDonald's is ending a FIFA World Cup sponsorship it has held since 1994, immediately after its largest-ever global campaign. Chief marketing officer Morgan Flatley: "I think we've become overly reliant on borrowed IP." It is keeping F1 in Latin America. The fee was never disclosed.
BC Partners is attempting a USD 300m restart of LIV Golf: 10 tournaments instead of 14, and players taking equity instead of guaranteed money. Around 15 have tentatively committed against a target of 30 to 40. The league is in bankruptcy and Saudi Arabia's PIF has stopped investing.
Thirteen of thirty MLB clubs have lost their regional broadcaster in four years. Those rights are still worth USD 1.6bn, 43% of the league's broadcast rights revenue, and MLB now holds the rights for fourteen clubs with MLB.tv as an interim. The league owned the pipe.
New Zealand took the fourth T20I by 87 runs at Eden Park on 30 October, Glenn Phillips making 107 off 49, leaving India 3-1 up with the decider at Hamilton tomorrow. Hero VIDA is series title sponsor and Delta Exchange white-ball co-sponsor, both undisclosed.
| Date | |
|---|---|
| 31 Oct | F4 Indian Championship Round 4, Buddh International Circuit |
| 31 Oct – 1 Nov | World Wrestling Championships conclude, Astana — men's freestyle final day |
| 1 Nov | 5th T20I, India v New Zealand, Seddon Park, Hamilton — series decider |
| 1 Nov | Indian Racing League Round 2, Buddh International Circuit |
| 31 Oct – 13 Nov | Youth Olympic Games, Dakar — India 17 athletes across 11 sports, the first Olympic event held in Africa |
| 2 Nov | Asian Champions Trophy league phase concludes, Jalandhar |
| 3 Nov | IOA Athletes' Commission election — 34-member electoral college, 10 seats, 5 men and 5 women. AIFF, AITA, TTFI and BFI are all excluded |
| 3 Nov | Ligue 1 domestic television rights bidding opens, running to 7 December |
| 4 Nov | Indian Supercross Season 3 auction, Pune — 146 riders from 21 countries, 56 slots, seven franchises. No economics disclosed |
| 4 Nov | 1st ODI, India v New Zealand, Eden Park, Auckland |
| 4 Nov | Asian Champions Trophy semi-finals, Mohali |
| 5 Nov | Asian Champions Trophy final, Mohali — India defending |
| 6 Nov | Delhi High Court returns to the TTFI suspension — the Centre's response is due on the "prima facie arbitrary" finding of 16 October |
| 7 Nov | 2nd ODI, India v New Zealand, Sky Stadium, Wellington |
| 7–20 Nov | Abu Dhabi T10 begins — JioStar holds Indian subcontinent rights |
Just beyond: IWL 2026-27 kicks off 13 Nov · Punjab & Haryana High Court on the BFI 13 Nov · IPL 2027 retention deadline 15 Nov · FIFA US media rights bids due 19 Nov · FEI suspension of the Equestrian Federation of India takes effect 1 Dec · IOA elections 5 Dec
The business and machinery of Indian sport. Every Saturday, 5pm IST. Every number links to its source.
