Mumbai, Feb 2: The volunteers working behind the scenes of the ongoing AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 are garnering praise from all corners for their diligence and hard work. The tournament has been running within a bio-bubble across three venues – D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai, and Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune.
The volunteers, who are part of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), come from various management colleges across India. The volunteer program of the LOC is aimed at creating a strong pool of young leaders in the sports domain. One of the volunteers, Vaishali Pandey, who is currently pursuing an MBA in Sports Management from Symbiosis School of Sports Sciences, received the opportunity through her college placement cell.
“I’m in the Marketing and Infotainment department. The takeaway from both the cells is that no matter what the situation is we need to come up with a workable solution. I’m working as an Announcer in the matches where timing is everything, hence, accuracy with efficiency is mandatory here,” Vaishali said.
“This experience has made me realize that I can work beyond my potential. Be genuine to the assigned work and give more than 100 percent to whatever work we are assigned to,” she added. Giving opportunities to people at a time when sports events have been halted or postponed by the pandemic for more than two years has served as a blessing for the young enthusiasts looking to enter this industry.
Vedant Gupta, a second-year MBA student who is pursuing Sports Business Management from the DY Patil School of Management, said that the tournament, his first sports event, has been an incredible learning experience for him. “The overall experience throughout the tournament for me has been wonderful as this was my first sports event and I got to learn many new things. Starting from the process, to the detailed bifurcation of the departments and their roles and responsibilities – the whole run-through of the event and many other things,” he said.
Another volunteer, Harleen Kohli, who is working in Media Operations at the event, talked about the challenges and how she learned to overcome those situations. “Because the tournament was taking place during Covid-19, learning and implementing the various protocols so early in our career is a feather in our collective caps. That we were able to handle everything in a calm and professional manner is a testament to everyone’s unified effort towards a common goal,” she said. “AFC has been an incredible and one-of-a-kind experience. When it’s over, I’m going to miss going to the stadium every day because it was the best part of my day. “However, in addition to providing an exceptional learning experience, volunteering for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022 has given me the opportunity to network, become more confident, as well as to forge new friendships,” she added.
