NODWIN Gaming, a global leader in youth entertainment, today announced the launch of NODWIN Sports, a dedicated mainstream sports vertical focused on building new-age sports properties, driving mass participation and developing strategic opportunities across the Global South sports ecosystem.
NODWIN Sports has been established to bring NODWIN Gaming’s expertise in building high-engagement youth and entertainment properties into mainstream sport. The vertical will conceptualize and scale new-age sports and active fitness competitions, develop mass-participation lifestyle properties, and work with sports federations, governing bodies, rights holders and brands to unlock new avenues for audience engagement and commercial growth.
The vertical will operate across four core areas: new-age sports and mass-participation IPs; sports advisory and governing body engagement; strategic partnerships and commercial alliances; and white-label execution and operations. This will include creating original sports properties, advising sporting institutions on ecosystem and commercial development, facilitating brand and media partnerships, and providing end-to-end operational and production capabilities for sports properties across markets.
Leading the new vertical is Gurbaksh Singh Virdi, who joins NODWIN Gaming as a seasoned sports marketing executive with a proven track record of leadership across the sports ecosystem, spanning athlete management, intellectual property creation, commercial partnerships and multi-sport operations across India and international markets.
A three-time 70.3 Ironman finisher and endurance sport enthusiast, Virdi has played a pivotal role in several landmark initiatives across India’s sports ecosystem. During his tenure at Red Bull, he pioneered Red Bull Campus Cricket, managed leading Indian athletes across disciplines, and was involved in marquee sporting tours and brand-building initiatives. At U Sports, he led operations for U Mumba in the Pro Kabaddi League and established the U Dream Football programme with Tata Trusts in Germany, in partnership with Bundesliga clubs including Borussia Dortmund and TSG Hoffenheim. He also established the esports vertical at U Sports, further expanding his experience across emerging and mainstream sporting ecosystems.
Virdi subsequently expanded Puma’s team sports portfolio and led strategic athlete IP development at Cornerstone, where he spearheaded running initiatives for Virat Kohli’s inaugural One8 brand and launched the agency’s esports division. Most recently, as Sports Marketing Lead at Adidas India, he led the sports marketing vertical across cricket, running, training, football and motorsport, working across partnerships with the BCCI, the Indian Olympic Association and leading football and motorsport properties. He also developed and curated new-age, high-impact marketing activations and campaigns across markets, with a focus on building deeper consumer engagement and participation around sport.
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Gurbaksh Singh Virdi, Vice President, NODWIN Sports, said: “India’s sports landscape is entering an important phase of evolution, shaped by a new generation of audiences who are experiencing sport across competition, participation, entertainment, content and culture. Having worked across federations, athlete development, brand partnerships and sporting properties, I have seen first-hand how each of these touchpoints can play a role in shaping the way people connect with sport. NODWIN Sports gives us an opportunity to bring these perspectives together and build properties that are relevant to how the next generation wants to experience sport. The ambition is not only to create new opportunities for participation, but to help build the culture around sport for the next decade, one that is more accessible, engaging, contemporary and connected to youth culture. I’m excited to work with federations, rights holders, athletes, brands and communities to create sporting properties and ecosystems that can have lasting relevance.”
Akshat Rathee, Co-Founder and Managing Director, NODWIN Gaming, said: “Sport has always had the ability to bring people together at scale, and the way audiences experience sport is changing rapidly. We see an opportunity to build properties that reflect how younger audiences participate, compete, follow and engage with sport today. NODWIN Sports gives us a dedicated platform to work with sporting institutions, athletes, brands and partners to build those opportunities. Gurbaksh brings a rare combination of sports marketing experience, IP-building expertise and an understanding of how to build ecosystems around audiences, and we’re excited to have him lead this next chapter for NODWIN.”
NODWIN Sports will leverage NODWIN Gaming’s capabilities across content, production, partnerships and community engagement, supporting properties from concept development and commercial strategy through to execution and audience engagement. The vertical will draw on NODWIN’s experience across a diverse portfolio of youth-facing IPs, including the BGMI Masters Series (BGMS), Comic Con India (CCI), NH7 Weekender and VCSA, which have enabled the company to build communities across competitive gaming, music, lifestyle and youth culture. This breadth of experience positions NODWIN to create sporting properties that can speak to younger audiences while bringing together participation, entertainment, content and commercial partnerships.
The launch expands NODWIN Gaming’s capabilities across youth entertainment and creates a new platform for the company to participate in the continued evolution of India’s sporting landscape.
