An excerpt from the interview of Joy Bhattacharjya - He is one of the pioneers of sport in India, being former Team Director of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Project Director at LOC FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017, and also CEO of the Pro Volleyball League (PVL).
Q) You were part of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India. Now, India also has the opportunity to host a Women's World Cup. It's a long term piece, but women's sport should be given as much importance as men's. How do we as a nation put our mind behind it and really drive that, for us to then see the change at the grassroots level? What do you think India should be focusing on?
A) Absolutely, I think for me, this Women's World Cup is very significant and more significant in terms of just as a grassroots activation to get more women to play sport than anything else. I think it has to be that part of a larger picture of getting women into sport. Results are the last thing we should be looking at. We should just keep hosting, and the age group is just right. It's under 17.
"Getting girls to play sport; getting girls interested and excited about sport; watching the best, finest young girl players in the world, play in front of them in our stadiums. These are all opportunities. I want some 15-year-old kid to go there, see a stadium, watch a Brazil or a US play and say that, you know what, I want to play football, I want to play sport."
I think that is a huge opportunity, and we should never miss that opportunity. Corporates and the government also have to throw their weight behind this tournament. It's much more important to them for a variety of reasons than you’d realise.
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