Premier Handball League licensee Bluesport Entertainment to invest Rs 240 crore for the development of sport

The
company
has
also
disinvested
shares
and
onboarded
entrepreneurs
Vivek
Lodha
and
Abhinav
Banthia
as
their
strategic
investors.
The
company
will
use
the
funding
to
accelerate
the
growth
of
both
men’s
and
women’s
handball
in
India
in
the
next
five
years,
providing
it
with
a
much-needed
boost
not
just
at
an
elite
level
but
also
at
the
grassroots.

“Investment
as
well
as
having
the
right
people
as
partners
is
key
to
developing
any
sport.
Apart
from
creating
a
professional
handball
league
and
its
marketing,
we
are
also
looking
at
a
holistic
approach
to
develop
the
sport
at
the
grass-root
level
through
various
strategic
collaborations
and
customised
programs
especially
curated
to
train
the
players,
coaches
as
well
as
upgrading
the
handball
infrastructure
in
India.

“The
business
acumen
of
Mr
Vivek
Lodha
and
Mr
Abhinav
Banthia
and
our
vision
to
revolutionise
this
fastest
Olympics
sport
in
India
under
the
guidance
of
the
HFI
are
some
of
the
reasons
that
ensured
the
board
to
go
ahead
with
this
investment,”
said
Manu
Agrawal,
CEO
and
Co-Founder,
Bluesport
Entertainment
Pvt.
Ltd.

The
company
has
already
acquired
the
rights
for
both
men’s
and
women’s
leagues-PHL,
in
India
for
the
next
10
years.
With
an
investment
of
INR
120
crore
each
for
the
men’s
and
women’s
games,
it
plans
to
spend
35
cr
for
the
grassroots
development,
nurturing
and
training
of
junior
and
sub-junior
talents
in
the
country
as
well
as
implementing
a
well-structured
program
to
help
local
coaches
acquire
international
standards.
It
will
also
provide
necessary
international
exposure
and
foreign
training
opportunities
to
the
Indian
players
through
the
league.

“Handball
is
already
a
popular
and
much-followed
sport
globally
and
with
a
massive
youth
population
in
India,
there
has
been
a
steady
rise
in
the
appetite
for
new-age
sports.
We
will
be
using
25%
of
the
funding
in
promoting
handball
across
the
country,
tapping
the
interest
while
15%
of
it
will
go
into
developing
the
infrastructure
which,
I
feel,
will
be
the
key
factor
in
the
growth
of
the
sport
in
India.

“In
the
next
five
years,
we
not
only
want
to
change
the
way
handball
is
being
played
or
perceived
in
the
country
but
also
to
make
the
PHL
a
commercially
viable
product.
We
expect
33%
growth
in
terms
of
compound
annual
growth
rate
and
believe
both
the
men’s
and
women’s
leagues
are
capable
of
recovering
the
investment
and
turning
profitable
by
the
end
of
their
respective
third
seasons,”
Agrawal
further
added.

Played
by
over
190
countries
across
the
world,
handball
has
immense
popularity
in
India
at
the
grassroots
level
with
more
than
85000
registered
players
currently.
It
is
one
of
the
few
sports
where
female
players
match
the
competitiveness
of
their
male
counterparts
and
it
also
demands
great
physical
fitness.

The
much-awaited
inaugural
edition
of
the
PHL
is
scheduled
to
take
place
next
year
as
the
franchise-based
league
is
all
set
to
add
a
new
and
exciting
chapter
in
the
history
of
Indian
handball.

Source:
Media
Release