Q. Who do you think will be the potential replacement to Sunil Chhetri?
Mr. Rihal : Sunil is no doubt a legend of Indian football. I think we should move past looking for his replacement as football in India has moved on. The quality of football has improved and with that there are a number of quality players who have what it takes to reach Chhetri heights.
Q. Can you tell us one incident which you love related to Inventive Sports ?
Mr. Rihal : There are just so many to list. It’s been a great journey full of experiences and there are more to come.
Q. What are your challenges as the CEO of a sports Agency?
Mr. Rihal : Everyday is a challenge in the world of the sports agency. I am lucky to have a great team of partners that make it so enjoyable. Trust is key to a successful business and having Jas Jassal (London), Wilbur Lasrado (Mumbai) & Shakeel Abdullah (Kerala) at Inventive Sports means we all work for the interests of our clients.
Q. Take us through the transfer that took in the maximum amount of effort.
Mr. Rihal : In 2017, it was the transfer of Iain Hume to Kerala Blasters. In the run up, we had serious interest from 4 teams to sign Hume. We had many communications with clubs and two offers which we rejected while both Iain & I were in England.
Clubs kept on probing and saying were interested but no improvements on offers were forthcoming. Iain & I both decided to fly to Mumbai for the Indian player draft as we knew all the club decision makers would be present.
It ended up being a 36 hour trip within which we negotiated with 4 clubs in one space (St Regis Hotel) and culminated in deal to bring him back to the Blasters. I recall reading the contract in the taxi to the airport and the deal being confirmed by the time I landed back in London.