Sportz Village Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Sportz Village, India’s leading sports education organisation, on Thursday convened the #SportForChange Roundtable in Bengaluru under the theme “Truly Grassroots Global – Building a Global Coalition for India’s #SportForChange Movement.”
The roundtable was organised with ISCA (International Sport and Culture Association) as knowledge partner and The International Platform on Sport and Development (sportanddev) as global communications partner. It brought together global and Indian voices to discuss how grassroots sport can tackle youth physical inactivity and drive development outcomes for children.
Among those present were Mogens Kirkeby, President, ISCA, and Parminder Gill, Co-founder & Head of Foundation, Sportz Village, along with dignitaries and representatives from India’s corporate, state and development sectors.
The discussions at the #SportForChange roundtable centred on finding actionable ways for state bodies, CSR leaders, foundations and sports organisations to come together and build sustainable, accessible sports ecosystems at the grassroots level.
While participants acknowledged that medal-focused programmes remain important, they noted that grassroots sport’s real impact lies in scale — through improved health, education and inclusion outcomes for children. The conversation gained urgency in the context of a global physical inactivity crisis among young people, with India’s youthful population seen as a major opportunity to demonstrate impact at scale.
A major highlight of the event was the launch of the ‘Girls in Sport’ campaign, a joint initiative between Sportz Village Foundation and ISCA aimed at advancing gender equity and widening opportunities for girls to take part in sport across the country. The campaign aims to engage over one million girls in sport over the next five years.
The roundtable also saw an exchange of global knowledge and best practices in grassroots and community sport, with a focus on adapting international models to India’s local context.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Parminder Gill, Co-founder & Head of Foundation, Sportz Village, said, “Medals are an important measure of sporting excellence, but the foundation for those achievements is built much earlier, at the grassroots level. By giving children access to quality physical education, exposure to different sports and the right opportunities to develop their potential, we can create a stronger pipeline of athletes while also ensuring that sport contributes to their overall development. With India’s young population, expanding these opportunities, particularly for girls, can help build a more inclusive and sustainable sporting ecosystem.”
Mogens Kirkeby, President, ISCA, said, “Physical inactivity among young people is a global challenge, and movement through sport is one of the most accessible solutions we have. India, with its young population, is positioned to demonstrate what that looks like at scale. Bringing global experience into this conversation lets us exchange what’s working across countries and adapt it to India’s context — that kind of collaboration is how grassroots sport moves from isolated efforts to real, lasting impact.”
As India strengthens its presence in the global Sport for Change movement, initiatives like the #SportForChange roundtable and the Girls in Sport campaign underline a shared commitment to using sport as a tool for lasting change in the lives of children.
