Sports as a Career Option in India

India is a booming ground for sports and its related businesses these days!  Big initiatives such as Indian Premier League (Cricket), Hockey India League, Indian Badminton League, Pro-kabbadi, Indian Super League (Football) and professionalization of Heritage sports events such as Goti, Gilli Danda, Lagori, Kilithatt, Gatta Gusthi etc. are changing the face of Indian sports and hence career with Sports. It is only natural then, for jobs supporting the sports industry, like mental and physical health, sales and marketing, and sports media content services and many more are now in demand.

While social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, are directly communicating with the sports audience; content creation and digital sports marketing is also getting bigger and better.

The new generation sports lovers have a wide range of opportunities to be associated with sports and make it a promising career option.  Career in sports management, like any other field, is evolving and re-defining its ways to operate, promote and innovate. Here is an insight to career in sports after graduation:

1. Sports Analyst/ Statistician

A sports statistician analyzes data connected to sporting events. They work for the best outcomes and trends in sports. Statisticians are sometimes called scorers, and they keep track of information related to a specific sport. Some objectives of a statistician are recording statistics as and when they occur, preparing final stats for a financial report, and entering computer data. For a career in sports analytics, sports statistician needs to have good math skills and statistics knowledge. Computer literacy and observation skills are a must.

2. Sports Psychologist

Sports Psychology is an interdisciplinary practice that explores the link between psychological and physical factors affecting performance in competitive sports and athletic activity. A sports psychologist is an asset to any athletic team or league. Their job consists typically of counselling and rehabilitating athletes psychologically after an injury or other breaks in confidence, before heading back to the field. Confidence and a healthy mental state are necessary to be successful in any sport. Skills needed to be a Sports Psychologist are knowledge of exercise science and sports medicine. They must be able to think objectively, with knowledge of sports-related injuries and treatments. An education in sports psychology or clinical psychology is required.

   3. Sports Agents

A sports agent negotiates contracts for athletes while working out contract details with sports teams and their endorsers. Having strong verbal and written communication skills is key. Traveling is often required for agents to get to and from sporting events, publicity events, and other meetings on behalf of the athletes the agent represents. While there is no formal educational or licensing requirements to become an agent, a masters in sports management or sports marketing, or business with a focus in sports management will be helpful.

   4. Public Relations Manager

Public relations handle the public image of their clients, by advising the client themselves, as well as representing the client in public matters. PR managers coordinate public relations events, developing media influence, and creating strategies for avoiding unwanted publicity. An undergraduate degree in marketing, advertising or communications is needed for a public relations manager’s job.

5. Event Coordinator

There is a wide range of career options for people who work as event coordinators. In the sports industry, event coordinators are needed to find the appropriate location, scheduling, and budgeting for sports events. Event coordinators may also oversee risk-management issues like crowd control and security and transporting guests or clients to and from the event. There is no specific degree required to be an event coordinator, however, a degree in business or marketing is beneficial for the competitive ones.

6. Sports Content Writer

With growing interest in sports and its associated activities, the sports audience is always hungry for more information on games, athletes, performances, etc., sports content is very critical for media, print, digital sports environments. Unlike earlier, a career in sports journalism also includes ideating on and executing content plans, campaigns, and even contests are an important part of the job. Bachelor’s degree in English or Journalism is preferred

7. Sports Journalism:

There will be loads to report on, loads to write about and lots of people wanting to know more about grass-roots sport activities.