India, Australia unveil roadmap to deepen sports cooperation
New Delhi, July 10 (TNT): India and Australia have unveiled a comprehensive Roadmap for Sports Collaboration, outlining a broad framework to strengthen bilateral cooperation in sports through capacity building, sports science, major sporting events, industry partnerships and women’s participation.
Building on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Sports signed in 2023, the roadmap aims to deepen institutional partnerships and leverage opportunities arising from major international sporting events, including the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, and India’s ambition to host a future edition of the Olympics and Paralympics.
The roadmap recognises sport as a key pillar of the India-Australia relationship and seeks to facilitate collaboration among governments, sporting organisations, universities, businesses and community groups.
Under the capacity-building initiative, the two countries will collaborate on establishing and operating high-performance sports centres in India, promote coach education through two-way exchange programmes, strengthen cooperation in para sports, introduce physical education exchange programmes, and explore opportunities for Indian athletes to access high-performance training in Australia through scholarship programmes.
The roadmap also envisages collaboration in sports science and technology through joint research by universities in areas such as athlete performance analytics, injury prevention, sports nutrition, wearable technology, recovery techniques and para sports.
Both sides will also encourage partnerships for co-developing sports curricula and strengthen cooperation on anti-doping initiatives through international forums.
In the area of major sporting events, India and Australia will exchange best practices in hosting international competitions, explore exhibition matches and youth events in sports of mutual interest, and establish reciprocal arrangements between sporting bodies for the use of training facilities and support networks ahead of global events.
The two countries also welcomed the inaugural Big Bash League (BBL) match scheduled to be played in Chennai in December 2026 and encouraged Cricket Australia and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to work towards hosting annual BBL matches in India.
To strengthen commercial engagement, the roadmap proposes collaboration between sports industry stakeholders in areas including sports equipment manufacturing, sports media and broadcasting, event management and sports start-ups.
It also aims to expand India’s exports of sports goods to Australia while promoting Australian expertise in coaching, sports science, athlete wellbeing and high-performance training.
The roadmap further includes a dedicated partnership to promote women’s participation in sports through joint initiatives focusing on leadership, health, high-performance training and bilateral competitions for women athletes, drawing on Australia’s experience in advancing gender equality through sport.
The two countries said implementation of the roadmap would be pragmatic, demand-driven and aligned with available resources, with activities undertaken through existing partnerships and mutually agreed arrangements.
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