Pioneering a Sports Revolution: A Deep Dive into SFA's Vision and Impact on Indian Youth

In an exclusive conversation, the founders of Sports For All (SFA) share their journey of transforming grassroots sports in India. Rishikesh Joshi, a national-level swimmer, and his co-founder Vishwas Choksi, driven by their shared passion for sports, launched SFA with the vision of making sports accessible and enjoyable for every child in the country. From leveraging cutting-edge technology to ensuring inclusivity, SFA is not just nurturing future champions but also revolutionizing the sports landscape in India. This discussion delves into their inspiration, the rapid growth of SFA, and their ambitious goals for the future, shedding light on how they are shaping the next generation of Indian athletes.

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Mr. Rishikesh Joshi

Founder Sports For All

What inspired you and Vishwas Choksi to start Sports For All? How did your background as a national-level swimmer influence this vision?

Vishwas and I are driven by our passion for sports and a vision for its broader impact in India. We saw an opportunity to enhance grassroots sports as the exciting professional leagues also picked up. We realised that the medals today come from the grassroots of yesterday and if we could impact the grassroots today, we could enable the medals tomorrow. My national-level swimming experience highlighted the benefits of structured support, shaping our approach to nurture a robust sports culture aimed at creating future champions and enriching the overall sports ecosystem.

SFA has grown rapidly since its inception in 2015. What do you see as the key factors behind its success, and how have you managed to scale it across multiple cities?

We want to provide every child in India an opportunity and access to sports and the ecosystem of India. The key to our success has been our unwavering focus on making children fall in love with sports. Our rapid growth is because we made technology the backbone of our operations, but we’re also seeing a cultural shift towards broader sports participation in India. People are starting to embrace sports beyond just a select few. For example, look at the Olympics—viewership has significantly increased in Paris compared to Tokyo. This growing interest is the culture we aim to create and nurture.