English men's soccer's top-tier Premier League has appointed Hrishikesh Shende as its new managing director for India, one of the league's targeted growth markets.
Shande, who previously worked for Indian sports media heavyweight JioStar, which holds rights to the Premier League, unveiled his appointment via a social media announcement over the weekend.
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He spent two years and four months as JioStar's senior vice president for strategy, acquisitions, and partnerships. Before that, he had served as chief operating officer for the Lucknow Super Giants, a Twenty20 cricket team in the lucrative Indian Premier League, for a year.
He has also previously spent eight years at the Indian division of sports apparel giant Adidas.
Shende will now be based out of Mumbai, the major Indian city in which the Premier League opened a new office in April.
In announcing his new position, Shende posted on LinkedIn: "I am looking forward to collaborating with colleagues and partners to continue to drive forward the League's commitment to developing football in India, and strengthening relationships with clubs, partners, stakeholders, and the millions of passionate fans."
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By GlobalDataIn India, the Premier League broadcast rights are held by media giant JioStar, a new joint venture formed by the merger of Star India and Viacom18, which will broadcast the competition through the 2027-28 campaign as part of a 2024 renewal worth $65 million.
Since 2007, the league has operated grassroots soccer education programs in India in partnership with the country’s British Council to complement the sport’s growth in India, a nation where cricket dominates the sporting and cultural landscape while soccer must wrestle for position with the likes of field hockey and kabaddi.
For the last 11 years, meanwhile, the Premier League has collaborated with India’s top-flight Indian Super League (ISL) on knowledge-sharing, governance improvement, and in May 2025, a host of under-19 youth development sides from Premier League teams will compete in Mumbai against youth teams from ISL clubs.
The new India office is the Premier League’s third regional base in Asia after facilities were opened in Singapore (2019) and Beijing, China (2024), while an office in New York City, US, was opened in 2023 to further complement the competition’s global reach.
