India’s sports budget has seen steady growth over the last five years—rising from approximately USD 260 million in 2019 to USD 405 million in 2024. Despite this momentum, our per capita sports spending remains around USD 0.30—starkly lower than that of countries like the UK (USD 9) and Australia (USD 11). While over USD 2.39 billion worth of sports projects are in the pipeline under the National Infrastructure Plan, a deeper transformation is still needed.

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In recent years, India's sporting landscape has benefitted from collaboration among governments (both union and state), sports federations, CSR initiatives, NGOs, private sponsors, franchises, and athletes. These alliances have contributed to notable successes—but these wins also highlight a larger challenge: for India to truly evolve into a “sporting nation,” we need sustained, strategic investment across all levels of sport—elite, grassroots, and community-based.

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Addressing the sector’s long-standing issues—from governance lapses and infrastructure gaps to the absence of a widespread sports culture—requires a new approach. What’s missing is a coherent system that connects different kinds of funders (CSR arms, philanthropists, private capital, and government) with the right sporting objectives, be it high-performance excellence or inclusive access at the grassroots.

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This white paper presents a roadmap to bridge that gap.

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We explore how collaborative funding models, including blended finance and catalytic capital, can be adapted to meet the diverse needs of India’s sporting ecosystem. Drawing parallels with successful strategies from other social sectors, this report highlights how sport can become a fertile ground for innovation in social finance—and in doing so, deliver impact far beyond the field of play.