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Sports For All (SFA) and Viacom18 partnership to bring SFA Championships 2023-2024 on digital and television
National, November 23, 2023: With the presentation of SFA Championships on JioCinema, Sports18- 2, and Sports18 Khel channels, school sporting competitions will now make their way to digital & television. The partnership of Sports For All (SFA), India’s largest tech-enabled multi-sport grassroots competition platform and Viacom18, will together make school sports accessible to millions of sports fans, across the country.
Being home to the most prolific sporting action, Viacom18’s portfolio is curated to engage fans in fresh ways and remove barriers to accessibility, affordability, and languages through digital. The partnership will also further their effort to carve a domain for youth sports. The collaboration is an extension of SFA’s own commitment to make sports accessible to all, especially at the school level. Bringing SFA Championships, the flagship IP by SFA, on Television and OTT will assist in radically transforming the school sporting ecosystem, in the country.
“The partnership with Sports For All (SFA) is our bid to make sporting action from the grassroots level accessible by harnessing the power of digital,” said Viacom 18 Sports content head TV and digital Siddharth Sharma. “We endeavour to continue spotlighting school-level talent by including SFA Championships in our portfolio.”
Viacom18 will present the best action from the SFA Championships 2023-2024 starting 3 December on JioCinema, Sports18-2, and Sports18 Khel channels. This calendar year, the city-based model of SFA Championships is scheduled across Indore, Jaipur, Uttarakhand (Dehradun), Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur, Delhi, and Ahmedabad. With the broadcast of SFA Championships, schools across the country will be able to recognise the sporting potential that their athletes can further harness. Thus, showcasing the untapped talent from schools, competing in more than 30 sporting categories and picking the prestigious title of ‘number one school in sports’ in that city.
“Partnering with Viacom18 is indeed a historic moment, in bringing Indian school sports to the centre stage. The country will now join in to witness the incredible potential of our young athletes”, shared SFA founders Vishwas Choksi and Rishikesh Joshi. “Our aim is to enthuse viewers to witness the journey of future champions, through our broadcast content. The SFA Championships entail an international sporting experience through equitable access to world class infrastructure, match videos, analytics and insights for school athletes. Every episode will showcase the energy and sporting talent of that city, their trials and tribulations and how every athlete contributes in identifying the ‘number one school in sports’, for their city”.
SFA Championships are India’s largest multi-sport school competitions, enabling an opportunity for youth to unleash their fullest potential through joyful and inspiring sporting experiences. These Championships are revolutionising the way school sports are experienced in India. The vision is to host 150 championships across 50 cities, in the next five years. Building a single unifying platform to
discover talent at the click of a button, across multi-sports, is how SFA has envisioned to encourage two lakh athletes to play at the 10 SFA Championships within a span of four months, for the 2023-2024 season.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
