Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 9 (ANI): As the Uttar Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gears up to make the state a sports hub in the country, the state is eyeing massive investment in the sector through the Global Investors Summit (GIS), which will start from Friday in Lucknow.

The state's department of sports will be organising a session titled -- Harnessing Opportunities in the Sports Sector in Uttar Pradesh -- during the Summit on February 12 where many eminent personalities will discuss various sports opportunities in UP.

As per a government statement, the session will witness a fruitful interaction among all the stakeholders in the sports sector. It will also provide a detailed overview of the department's policy as well as present it as an investment and engagement opportunity to investors and industry.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Khelo India policy and UP CM Adityanath's efforts have made this slogan a reality in UP more so in the country's most populous state, according to the statement.

Abhinav Bindra, Suresh Raina and Carlos Ezpeleta will be among the main speakers at the session.

Abhinav Bindra, Olympic Gold medalist and Founder of Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance; Carlos Ezpeleta, Chief Strategy Officer, Dorna (Moto GP); Udit Seth, Founder, TransStadia; Suresh Raina, Indian Cricketer; Yannick Colaco, Founder of Fancode; Benedicte de la Briere, Senior Economist, World Bank and Paul V Jensen, Managing Director, European Business and Technology Center will be some of the prominent speakers at the session.

Other speakers include Dwight Howard, NBA athlete; Nasser Hussain, CEO, Rugby India; Nidhi Pundhir, Representative from the British High Commission; Siddharth Upadhyay, Vice-President, Global CSR, HCL Foundation and Rushdee Warley, CEO, Inspire Institute of Sport.

According to brokerage firm Anand Rathi Investment Banking, the sports sector currently has huge potential. Among all the centres in the state, Meerut has an embedded history of sports. The sports industry will grow from USD 27 billion to USD 100 billion over the next five years (2027), according to the brokerage firm. Considering these opportunities, the state government wants to make UP a sports hub and the GIS 2023 is likely to contribute significantly to this.

According to the statement, UP is steadily becoming the hub of sports and is all set to host two major sports events this year -- the Khelo India University Games 2023 and the MotoGP.

The sports department is also prepared to make every possible contribution to the prosperity of Uttar Pradesh through the Global Investors Summit (GIS), establishing new dimensions and making UP a trillion-dollar economy, the statement said, adding that GIS to serve as a catalyst for the growing demand for sports and fitness models.

It is expected that the HCL Foundation, Dwight Howard, Rugby India Dream Foundation, Fancode, Moto GP, TransStadia, Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance, European Business and Technology Center, Vistara, University Sportech, JSW Sports, and HAL State Sports and Fitness will sign MoUs for big investments in the industry.

Navneet Sehgal, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Sports, Uttar Pradesh, said: "The Yogi government has been proactive in promoting and implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Khelo India athlete development initiative, as well as developing its own sports development strategies. It is our goal to see UP at the forefront in sports sector as well as in other fields. The GIS will be helpful based on the existing ecosystem." (ANI)