Capri Sports aims for WPL profitability in 6 years: Jinisha Sharma

Jinisha Sharma, director of the sports division at NBFC Capri Global said the decision to buy a WPL team was a “calculated risk” considering the backing of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and growing interest in women’s sports in India. The company owns four sports teams. 

As more teams prepare to join the WPL, coupled with growing sponsor interest, the journey becomes even more promising, she added. “We will reach a sustainable level and season-on-season profitability by that year. Having seen the IPL, how it’s growing and how the WPL has grown from one season to the next, we are very confident. We want to build women’s sports not just within teams, but also an ecosystem.”  

While Sharma acknowledged that other team owners, particularly those who own IPL teams, have built strong brands beyond cricket, the three other franchises owning a WPL team have also wielded their brand power to attract advertisers. “A lot of people ask us why we invested in a women’s team when we didn’t have an IPL team. But, we do think the time is right for women’s sports,” she said. 

The company had initially invested in International League T20 (ILT20) cricket tournament in 2022, and subsequently rapidly expanded its sports portfolio with five teams across different sports such as the Sharjah Warriors (ILT20) in the UAE; Rajasthan Warriors (Ultimate Kho Kho league), and Bengal Warriors (Pro Kabaddi League). Each team is managed by a separate entity.

Kabaddi has matured viewers across semi-urban and rural India, but kho kho is still at a nascent stage, Sharma said. “We will also look at investing in talent to grow the next decade for kabaddi. If India is looking at positioning kabaddi for the Olympics then we need to look for more avenues for talent.”

The company plans to invest in talent during the off-season, recognizing the semi-professional status of most players who participate part-time. “That is not the direction we want to steer our franchise in. We want to get into more feeder leagues and develop more players at non-playing times of the year.”

According to a 2023 GroupM report, the Indian sports industry saw a substantial increase in 2022, with media advertising, on-ground and team sponsorships, and celebrity endorsements surpassing the ₹14,000 crore mark for the first time, signalling a massive post-covid recovery.

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Published: 14 Mar 2024, 07:29 PM IST