Partnership to Support School Tournaments Nationwide with Quality Football, Volleyball, Handball, and Basketball Gear
Lucknow: In a landmark initiative to promote grassroots sports and ensure high-quality equipment for young athletes, the School Games Federation of India (SGFI) has entered into a strategic partnership with Vector X (Soccer International Pvt. Ltd.). The agreement aims to strengthen the standardization and quality of sports gear used in national-level school tournaments across the country.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Friday at Fortune Park BBD, Lucknow, between Deepak Kumar, President of SGFI and Agriculture Production Commissioner, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and Vikas Gupta, Managing Director of Soccer International Pvt. Ltd.
Under this partnership, Vector X will provide free football, volleyball, handball, and basketball equipment — including balls — for all SGFI-organized national school competitions under its CSR initiative. Additionally, Dunlop will serve as the ball partner for tennis and squash events. The agreement will initially remain valid for two years, with the possibility of extension based on mutual consent.
Speaking on the occasion, Deepak Kumar highlighted that over 60,000 top athletes from various states, union territories, and educational units participate annually in more than 256 national-level tournaments across 44 sports disciplines in the under-14, under-17, and under-19 categories.
“Our goal, with the support of Vector X, is to provide Indian school athletes with world-class sporting experiences and equipment, enabling them to represent India with pride on the international stage,” he said.
He further shared that seven national school competitions are scheduled to be held in Uttar Pradesh this year, with all arrangements for venues, player accommodation, and logistics already completed.
Since assuming leadership in January 2023, Kumar said SGFI has brought transformational reforms to its work culture, evolving from an organization once plagued by administrative and financial challenges into a transparent, digital, and athlete-centric federation recognized by the Government of India and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
SGFI has also become the first federation in the country to upload over 5 lakh certificates (from 2011 onwards) to the DigiLocker platform within seven months, ensuring secure and online access for athletes. Certificates from upcoming events will now be available digitally within seven days of competition.
The federation has implemented an automated management system, drastically reducing manual intervention in results and certification, and introduced Aadhaar-linked registration with biometric verification to ensure complete transparency in age and identity verification of players.
In another first, SGFI has provided ₹1.5 crore in direct financial assistance to national competition organizers and updated game rules in alignment with international standards — the first revision since 2017. These reforms have drawn appreciation from various national sports federations.
Expressing his delight over the partnership, Vikas Gupta, MD of Soccer International Pvt. Ltd., said, “We are proud to collaborate with SGFI, India’s largest school sports federation. This partnership will empower young talent and strengthen India’s sporting culture at the grassroots level. It is a milestone step toward nurturing future champions for the nation.”
The signing ceremony was attended by SGFI Vice President Muktesh Singh Bandesha, Director of Secondary Education Dr. Mahendra Dev, Joint Director Vishnu Kant Pandey, and representatives from both organizations.
This collaboration marks a significant step toward elevating India’s school sports infrastructure and nurturing the next generation of athletes through access, opportunity, and excellence.
