FIFA Master Alumni - Where are they now? - Roma Khanna
Roma Khanna
Current Position: Consultant and Advisor - Investment in sports - sports development and social messaging through sports, Bidding and Sporting infrastructure & public speaker & mentor on - Women in Leadership and participation of women in sports
Year of graduation: 2010 (10th Edition)
Nationality: India
What does your current role involve?
My journey in sports speaks of something I strongly believe in– Consistent growth, innovation, moving forward - proactively reinventing yourself and redefining your career trajectory to match that growth.
I have worn many hats during the 23+ years of my journey in sport – from leadership roles as Tournament Director of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the AFC Women’s Asia Cup 2022 & FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, Director of Venue Operations for the FIFA U17 World Cup 2017 and working with host country and host city governments, Director of Special Projects and Infrastructure for the India FA while setting up infrastructure policy for football infrastructure and bidding of events, Chief Cricket Correspondent for a leading new network in India. I was also a consultant for FIFA on Legacy for FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand and Tournament operations and host country relations for FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup 2022.
Each experience has helped me build expertise in areas in sport administration that have interested me - from communications to governance to providing infrastructure for growth of sports - and aligned with my values and helped me become a well-rounded industry Executive.
At present I advise and consult on projects where agencies, governments and companies require expertise - in tournament operations and strategy, increase participation in sports, sporting infrastructure, hosting international events. Besides this, am a public speaker and mentor working with corporations in India that require expertise to guide Women executives make a successful transition into management & leadership roles.
Which aspects of the FIFA Master course have helped you most in your career?
If you look at my career trajectory post FIFA Master and the roles I have taken, it has been an amalgamation of all three aspects from the master’s that I benefited from, and would say is equally essential for future leaders in Sports. For example, I was a better Club Licensing Manager for the Indian FA due to the masters programme and the results were evident as AFC had acknowledged India as having the best club licensing system in Asia and even today after more than a decade is mentioned as as forward looking and progressive.
What advice would you give to future students?
I would say that if you believe the FIFA Master is something that you will benefit from then go for it. Keeping aside the benefit of networking with the alumni community, this course can open your mind to new innovations and diverse thought processes, while at the same time reminding you of values that may be considered ‘old-fashioned’ but are the very best of us, and not to mention vitally essential to being a good leader both in life and sport business.
