Pranav Tehran
28-May-2026
India Is Ready for a Sports-Led Hospitality Revolution
Inputs by: By Pranav Trehan, Founder & CEO, Aufside Hospitality
Consider this: India has 1.4 billion people, out of which nearly 65% are under the age of 35. This, by all factors, makes us a nation of the young. Yet, when it comes to sports-led hospitality developments, there are none. This isn’t an overstatement. Especially for a country that has turned cricket into a religion, football into a movement, and sport into one of its most powerful shared languages. The lacuna of infrastructure for actually experiencing it remains a startling reality. Professional-grade stadiums are, of course, for professionals. For the rest of us, it’s mostly a bar stool and a mediocre screen.
With two decades of experience as a football club CEO and restaurateur, I’ve watched countless big matches in packed rooms, learning exactly what the Indian sports-led hospitality market lacks. It’s not the passion—India has that in spades. What’s missing is a premium space that actually respects and elevates that passion.
Sport Is an Anchor, Not a Gimmick
There is a version of sports hospitality that treats sport as decoration: a few screens, a sports jersey on the wall, and a vaguely themed menu. That version has always existed, and it has never quite worked, because fans can tell the difference between a brand that understands sport and one that is simply borrowing its aesthetics.
What separates a sports-led hospitality concept is the depth. It is understanding the rhythm of a football season. Understanding that food has to be social and shareable, because no one wants to navigate a formal dining experience while watching a penalty shootout. It is about acoustics, sight lines, the quality of the screen, and the way a cheer can electrify the room.
My journey into creating a space that pay ode to sports and the passion began with football. During my tenure as CEO of South United Football Club, my focus moved beyond building a competitive team; it was about orchestrating a complete sporting ecosystem—from grassroots youth development to deep fan engagement and sustainable institutional growth. Through this, I realised that fans don't just consume sports; they are invested emotionally. They look for their passion to be reflected in them and are in "need" of spaces that can honour their investment.
(In Image: Pranav Trehan, Founder & CEO, Aufside Hospitality)
The Market Is Changing
India's hospitality sector is undergoing a structural transformation. Post-pandemic, there has been a shift toward experience-led formats. Consumers are spending more on occasions that feel worthwhile. Premium casual dining is growing. Craft beverage culture is expanding pan-India, and the demand for branded, consistent, quality-driven experiences – the kind that travel well across cities – is accelerating.
Also Read: These are the best Sports Bars to Catch Your Favourite Game Live!
Sports hospitality sits at the intersection of all of these trends. It is inherently experiential, social by design, and commands a level of customer loyalty that traditional F&B concepts can only aspire. Fans who discover their local Aufside quickly transition into a foundational regular. They return for every single match, bringing their network, and champion the venue because the space itself becomes essential to how they "want" to experience it.
The real estate landscape is also transforming to create new opportunities. India's luxury township and premium residential development sector is booming, and developers are discovering that world-class lifestyle amenities are no longer the differentiator but a baseline expectation. Through Epicurean Odyssey, our hospitality management vertical, we are partnering with marquee developers to bring premium, experience-led F&B to the residential communities where India's aspirational class is choosing to live. The future of premium hospitality in India is within such communities.
(Image Credits: Pexels)
What This Moment Requires
Building a category requires patience, precision, and a genuine interest. The future of sports-led hospitality will not be designed by the conventional operators but by those who understand and share the cultural relationship with sports. A relationship built by cricket’s omnipresence, football’s rapid ascent in the south and east, and a surging appetite for multi-sport, year-round engagement. Ultimately, it is for a fan culture that is undeniably loud, fiercely loyal, and deeply communal.
It also requires culinary seriousness. A great sports bar is not a great bar with screens. It is a place where the food is genuinely good, where the beverage programme has been thought through, and where the kitchen understands that they are feeding people who are emotionally invested in what they are watching. The quality of the experience has to match the quality of the moment.
This is our mission at Aufside. There is an enormous, underserved market of Indian consumers who want exactly this: a venue that treats sports, food and the community with equal seriousness. A place that naturally integrates itself into the fabric of the neighbourhood.
The Play Ahead
India is more than primed for a sports-led hospitality revolution. The fan base is set, the demand is rising, and the demographics are there. What has been missing is the infrastructure, which is a network of well-designed, well-operated, genuinely experience-led venues that can hold this energy.
Fortunately, that infrastructure is beginning to take shape. The brands that approach this growth thoughtfully — with respect for the culture of sport, culinary credibility, and a genuine commitment to community — will not just be creating successful businesses but credible institutions. India has always known how to love sport. It is time to give that love a destination worth going to.
Image Credits: iStock
