Cricket isn’t just cricket
Cricket can do for Asia what Soccer did for Africa

The amateur inventors of the sports of cricket must not have imagined in the wildest of their dreams that their brainchild would one day become the third most prominent sport in the world, in terms of viewership & the associated commerce. The essence of cricket for most of the South Asian countries as well as for Australia, New Zealand as well as the Caribbean countries is that it not just gives momentary pleasure but has the potential to lift the spirit of the nation to an unprecedented level. Be it the victory of India in the 1983 World Cup when they vindicated that the Caribbeans are not invincible, or the metamorphosis of Sri Lanka from a toy poodle to a world champion in the 1996 World Cup, in both the cases the world was never the same for the two nations again. The same can be said with a bigger conviction about the likes of Australia which has taken not just the game of cricket but its professionalism to a new level which for all the right reasons is getting emulated in many other cricket playing countries. But is it just about spirit? Well, consider this: International Cricket Council (ICC) has already sold television rights for the 2011 & the 2014 cricket World Cup for an astounding $1.1 billion, coupled with the sponsorship sales of $500 million for the same. For the 2003 ICC World Cup South Africa spent US$3.48 million for cricket facilities, which not only created around 5,000 new jobs but also attracted nearly 40,000 foreign tourists to South Africa. In 2007 World Cup too, the sporting event generated over US$500 million for the Caribbean economy & brought in 672,000 spectators. If not for anything else, cricket essentially has to be taken forward for the creation of more business opportunity which results in creation of more & more employment.

Heal the world with sporting spirit
Soccer can be a decisive strategy in saving the Earth from oblivion

It will be naïve to give Soccer an introduction in a football frenzy world. It doesn’t matter where it is played, when it is played & who is playing, Soccer has this amazing ability to galvanise the entire world into one. Be it the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup or the European Cup or the Third World’s very own Copa America, Soccer has in it what it takes to make mankind forget war, rivalry & ethnic fights for a while. That’swhy probably the World Bank referred to it as ‘A Successful Example of Globalisation’. Soccer or Football has not just been the platform for many of the ethnic Africans to showpiece their skills but also has made it a point that a black-skinned Theary Henry or Didier Drog- ba has as much fan following as a White skinned David Beckham or a Michael Owen. Yet, Soccer isn’t just about racial equality. The revenue that this game generates annually is probably much bigger than the economies of western Europe or developing Asian giants. This is all the more reason why many of the younger eastern European countries like Ukraine & Poland are fighting to host the next European Cup if not the World Cup. Consider this: in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Los Angeles alone netted $623 million from just eight games, followed by New York ($452 million), San Francisco ($338 million) & Boston ($255 million). While South Korea & Japan netted $1.2 billion through ticket sales only, in 2002 World Cup. In 2006 World Cup, it contributed 5% to GDP of Germany. Hope Soccer would someday in this manner will be able to replace the small arms & hatred throughout the world in the same manner in which it has been able to restore pride among the Blacks of this world.

This ‘F’ is good
... F1 for social sustainability

While most athletes are concerned about their place in the world than about the world around them, few chosen ones have realised their importance in the lives of their millions of fans. With nearly 58 billion viewers glued to their TV screen to experience the F1 motor racing live, the impact on audience just can’t be ignored.This sport not only revolves around the players & fans but equally pioneers in development of technology & then the economy. F1 attracts the brightest minds in engineering design & encourages the use of innovative techniques. Realising the duty towards environment, the Honda F1 team has decided to race to raise awareness about environment issues & has done away with corporate colours & advertisements. Instead, it will portray a picture of Earth on racing cars. To create more audience involvement, Honda will also display names of pledged members, on Honda F1 billboards and then on artwork of the original car. On economic front, F1 brings in annual revenues of over $261.78 million to host nations & created over 28,000 jobs in Australia alone. It also has spin-off effects on tourism and hospitality sector as well. These Gods of Speed can definitely stimulate the present generation towards many social causes besides helping the nations to promote sports tourism.

Healing stick
Charity games acts as bequest

Though Germany has hosted the hockey World Championship at Mönchengladbach & England is the host to European hockey Championship in 2007, it is actually Canada which seems to be basking in the glory of Hockey. Canadian based teams – NHL, American hockey League & others also earn a commendable foreign exchange of which the NHL teams have approximately incorporated US$50 million annually into the Canadian economy. On summing up all the sources of foreign earnings, approximately C$300 million is contributed annually to the Canadian economy by hockey alone. No wonder, the Canadian Ice hockey player, Bobby Hull, got voted as hockey’s first million dollar man! In fact, this sport has so much seeped into the lives of Canadians, that in Toronto a 50-year-old hand carved hockey stick was sold for an exorbitant $2.2 million which eventually went for charity. Charity hockey matches are also in vogue like the ‘Hockey Hall of Fame’ in Canada. In California too, the Hockey Charity Tournament 2007, has a serious purpose of healing children with bad health. Thus, hockey is not just fostering economic growth but is also cultivating charity funds.

Polo is polling...
…new heights of development

Though a sport originally played in India, it is actually Australia which apparently is pampering its economy with what Polo is offering to the country. With the Ridley Polocrosse World Cup 2007 having been taken place in Australia, $2.1 million has been injected in Warwick, the Queensland town which hosted the event. A lucrative five figure deal was struck as Ridley aligned itself to the World Cup by means of an event naming sponsorship. Ridley, Australia’s largest stock feed producer, and leading brands like Cobber, Barastoc & Rumevite, has given the event a great upstart. Even from employment point of view, the economic activity has the likeliness to create 37 full time jobs every year. Though Australia seems to be making the most out of this royal sport, presently Dubai is also apparently inspired by the benefits Polo has to offer. This can be corroborated with the fact that currently Dubai’s most ambitious project is that of setting up a huge upscale 14.5 million square feet Plantation Equestrian & Polo facility in Dubai land, a project worth a whopping AED18 billion & such an exorbitant investment being initiated by the British. Many developing economies are yet untouched with the benefits that a horse & a stick provide!!

Finally…Golf is bridging the gulf
Contributing immensely towards development & social awareness

Golf is one of the most coveted games among the tycoons of the corporate dossier & when it comes to the movers & shakers, there’s never a bigger style statement than Golf. Accepted, that it is not anybody’s game even the expenses involved but thanks to the patronage that it garners, Golf today has become not just money minting sport but one around whom many industries have flourished. Be it clothing, golf accessories & real estate. On one hand, where billions are being raked in out of Golf , charitable golf tournaments are oft en organised for generating money (about $3 million) to be spent for social purposes. Not just this, the super rich players do also make a difference by making personal donations for many causes. Sample this: the famous FBR Open raised more than $46 million dollars for Arizona charity purpose while the annual ColorTyme Charity Golf Tournament raised $15,750 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in Carolina while European tour added £50,000 for the Tsunami aid. Moreover, corporations like Eaton Golf Grip Division donates 25 cents for every one of its Grip sold & organises campaigns like ‘Grip for Awareness & Swing for Hope’ on breast cancer. Golf tourism also contributed predominantly for growth in real estate & hospitality industries in most part of the US & Scotland. Apart from awareness campaigns & economic contribution, worldwide broadcast of the game brings the lush green beauty of the host country into drawing rooms of millions. Studies reveals that Golf tournament may bring in more than $330 million in major Golf playing countries. Hopefully, Golf would be able to continue its bridging of the gulfs, so why not let the rich play more & donate more for poor & the down-trodden.

Tennis’ ace for humanity
Personal achievements v/s off court contributions by tennis players...

In many ways, the impact of sports on society is highly collaborative. The 19th century game tennis is perfect case in point. From ending apartheid in Johannesburg by organising American-African tennis tournament, initiating opportunity for youth by initiating National Junior Tennis League, improving academic standard for African players via raising millions of dollars for United Negro College Fund & bridging the ignorance gap about Black’s sport history by publishing book on experience of Black players – tennis players did it all. As per the Sports Management Research Institute, tennis benefits the US economy by contributing $420 million to New York, which is far more than any other sports contribution in any city of the US. It is simply bewildering to believe that almost 3% of tourist to New York City visit solely to have a glimpse of US Open year after year. Tennis players oft en auction their autographed rackets & sports gear to aid victim of many natural disasters. Nicolas Kiefer moved one step ahead by donation $100 for every ace served & is in the process of organising an exhibition match with top Thai players for raising funds for effected Thai people. Maria Sharapova already made a personal donation of £5,200 to Thailand. Back home, Sania Mirza & Mahesh Bhupati are voluntarily helping Polio & AIDS campaigns. Tennis ace John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova & Jim Courier have not only pledged but also are actively supporting the water campaign as Clean Water Ambassadors. Compared to the monumental contribution off the court, the huge money they earn & victories they achieve seem (with all due respect!) almost immaterial. It’s inevitable that sports endeavours have the prospect to produce huge social & economical footprints in terms of development of mankind & society, much like the way IT has been able to bridge the digital divide between the developed & the undeveloped countries, the rich & the poor & the Whites & the Blacks.