January 2024 kicked off with a glorious sporting calendar. Be it for Indian athletes playing at domestic leagues or for Indian viewers to catch the International sporting action.
Kho Kho premiere league. Australian Open. India-Afghanistan series. Indian Open Badminton. AFC Men’s Asia Cup. Super Cup. Khelo India Youth Games. Asian Handball Championships. Qualifiers for Paris Olympics, 2024. Tata Mumbai Marathon. And of course SFA Championships across 3 cities.
(PS: a slight probability that few have been missed in the list above).
For a sports maverick this is heaven. Every space in the traditional and new-age media is writing and broadcasting about sporting action. Every fan and the fan clubs are immersed in performance analytics and finding their new favourites. In all this, what’s a typical day or routine like, for a communications professional – PR consultancy or Corporate Communications – would be an interesting insight to be aware of.
As a communications professional for a sporting league or game, our responsibility begins prior to the event kick-off. Elements such as communicating about the game, athletes participating, talent to watch out for, the specials for that geography and everything the sporting universe should wait for in anticipation. This and lots more encompasses the pre-Championships phase. Add to this details about the sporting infrastructure in that geography and the support extended by the Sporting Federations.
During the games, the thrill to visually capture every athlete’s performance onground, is an emotion that words can’t express. Every day at the games is like history in making and the possibility of discovering beautiful nuggets about an athlete’s success or failure. During the games, our life only revolves around ensuring every minute every story gets its rightful due. Supporting the athlete, are their family, coaches, schools, academies, brands and the fans. And each one of them is a story that is waiting to be told.
Definitely, discovering and recognising sporting talent is of paramount importance across any sporting league. But the environment that supports them is what makes the story special. Our role is to identify everything the sport has to offer and ensure every fan out there is informed. Or for that matter, anyone looking for the future Champion gets to know all they wanted to.
This is a tough, feet on the ground all day and all season job. Especially when one has to ensure strict timelines, detailed and constantly updating facts, managing every official stakeholder – and yet innovate in the face of chaos. It’s a delight if your passion for sports takes precedence. But could be a tall task if you pick it like any other project. And please note that this is just the “tip of the iceberg”, when it comes to what our jobs entail, however a good start to get introduced to the same.
So, next time you read a story about any sports, remember to applaud it on social media. Because a lot of hands, legs, emotions and brains have come together to bring alive that one story you are reading.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Building brands through story-telling is what keeps me going! Having spent 18years in this industry, I am far more excited to experiment on what's next to unlearn. Worked with industries across FMCG, Oil & Gas, Technology, Fashion, Telecom, Media House, F&B and now Sports, my curiosity to craft a narrative only gets deeper. Marathons, Black Coffee, learning about Scotch and Malts, reading everything i can, travelling, are few of other personal passions that I happily pursue.
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