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Former PepsiCo India’s David Pross joins Elite Pro Basketball League as chief advisor
MUMBAI: David Pross has joined the Elite Pro Basketball, a first of its kind in India a 5×5 Pro Basketball League as an advisory board member for the league. Having worked in various countries across the globe, David Pross with all his experience will help the team in planning and executing the league. Organized by Elite Sports India (ESI), it will attract top players, coaches across India and will have the highest salaries in the Indian basketball circuit.
Pross ESI said someone who has a great idea of the Indian market as he has launched his fourth new business initiative in India with Mobile Global Esports (MOGO). He also led the financial development of PepsiCo’s investment in India. This project achieved the first new launch of a global brand in India in 15 years, a market previously closed to investments by foreign consumer product companies. In his stint with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, he managed to gain government approval, environmental clearances and the industrial license for the only new foreign investment in India’s tobacco industry in 75 years.
Pross said, “Elite Pro Basketball gives the most exciting players in India a chance to prove their skills and create a dynamic showcase for the way basketball should be played — a fast-paced, nothing conceded, score-at-will game of the best.”
Elite Pro Basketball CEO Sunny Bhandarkar said, “Having someone as experienced as Mr Pross will certainly help us immensely. His inputs will be crucial in making this a World class league, our initial conversations have already been beneficial, and he has some great ideas which we will be implementing.”
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Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
