Capri Sports aims for WPL profitability in 6 years: Jinisha Sharma

livemint.com:

₹757 crore in 2023 to acquire the Women's Premier League (WPL) team. Jinisha Sharma, director of the sports division at NBFC Capri Global said the decision to buy a WPL team was a “calculated risk" considering the backing of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and growing interest in women's sports in India. The company owns four sports teams.

As more teams prepare to join the WPL, coupled with growing sponsor interest, the journey becomes even more promising, she added. “We will reach a sustainable level and season-on-season profitability by that year. Having seen the IPL, how it’s growing and how the WPL has grown from one season to the next, we are very confident.

We want to build women’s sports not just within teams, but also an ecosystem." While Sharma acknowledged that other team owners, particularly those who own IPL teams, have built strong brands beyond cricket, the three other franchises owning a WPL team have also wielded their brand power to attract advertisers. "A lot of people ask us why we invested in a women's team when we didn't have an IPL team. But, we do think the time is right for women's sports," she said.

The company had initially invested in International League T20 (ILT20) cricket tournament in 2022, and subseuqntly rapidly expanded its sports portfolio with five teams across different sports such as the Sharjah Warriors (ILT20) in the UAE; Rajasthan Warriors (Ultimate Kho Kho league), and Bengal Warriors (Pro Kabaddi League). Each team is managed by a separate entity. Kabaddi has matured viewers across semi-urban and rural India, but kho kho is still at a nascent stage, Sharma said.