Importance of Grass-Roots Development in Sports

To achieve long term success, every project must have strong foundations. This applies to every industry, so sports are no different. To become a sporting superpower, a nation must have structured investment at the grassroots level. There are many benefits to this, such as the emergence of national athletes who can be successful on an international scale, become youth icons, achieve Olympic glory, and achieve national pride.

Why Should We Focus on Grassroots?

Developing a strong sporting community from the grassroots is fundamental in building a nation with strong sports infrastructure. 

Athletes begin their sporting journey at schools and communities, progress through the zonal and district levels and finally represent India at the national and international levels.

Sports education has a number of positive effects, including:

1. By instilling the habit and culture of taking part in outdoor activities early in childhood, children learn the benefits of a healthy lifestyle

2. By involving other stakeholders, such as sports clubs, authorities and federations, an ecosystem can be developed

3. Better infrastructure, better equipment and better training can be provided at school levels to enhance a potential player's performance. 

4. Students can build upon their sporting skills by introducing sports curriculum at an early age

5. As a result, coaches, physical trainers, and sports facility operators will have job opportunities, and disadvantaged athletes will be able to obtain scholarships.

Similarly, The decision Carles Rexach made during his time as a Barcelona player later helped shape modern soccer. Rexach was a club executive when he met Messi, when he was just 13 years old, during a trial with the club. Rexach was captivated by Messi's abilities and decided that he should keep him from slipping away. We all know what happened next.

A similar initiative was launched in India to find talent and nurture it, Khelo India, to give every Indian the opportunity to shine. Through talent identification, sporting competitions and infrastructure development, it aims to improve sports culture in India at the grass-roots level.

In the first quarter of financial year 2022, Khelo India, the national program to develop sports talents, identified almost three thousand sporting talents. An annual financial aid of about 500 thousand Indian rupees was provided to identified talented players as an aid to improve their abilities.

Quarterly cumulative number of talents identified by Khelo India in India from financial year 2020 to 2022

In this ecosystem, the private sector plays a crucial role. However, most companies still see sports as a CSR activity and contribute just 2% of their revenues to grassroots development of sports.

Sports programs such as the Khelo India Youth Games, the Khelo India University Games, ISSO, and the Khelo India Talent Hunt play a crucial role in identifying and nurturing young talent to enable them to succeed in respective sports.

What makes grassroots better?

Local grassroots development develops the local talent and confidence of players regardless of their origin, by encouraging them to improve their skills and have fun while doing so. Apart from teaching technical skills, grassroots development can assist in encouraging friendships, camaraderie, and teamwork. Along with promoting diversity, it can also help reduce instances of discrimination, sexism, and racism.

Grassroots development fosters holistic development

A recent study showed that sports have a powerful impact on the overall development of kids' education and life skills.

Take a look at how our children benefit from sports in a number of different ways –

1. Strengthening Physical and Mental Capacity

2. Personality Development

3. Integrity

4. Developing Confidence

5. Discipline

6. Teamwork and Fair Play

7. Putting a Win-Win Attitude into Practice

Conclusion

Sports can help channel energy and interest of the youth in a positive way, and this is greatly beneficial for society. We can't all be sports stars, but regardless, sports can help channel energy and interest of the youth in a positive way. The tremendous amount of talent India has in sports calls for an organized, structured plan and structure for grassroots training and development, as well as increased awareness and participation. Our ultimate goal of winning multiple Olympic medals and trophies will be a step closer to being realized, and it will also empower the youth and assist us in developing the nation holistically.