Nagpur, India, June 30: On the occasion of Olympic Day, HCLFoundation, which drives the corporate social responsibility agenda of HCLTech in India, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to strengthen grassroots sports development and expand access to structured sporting opportunities for underserved children and youth in Nagpur under its flagship Sports for Change initiative.
The partnership aims to leverage NMC’s sports infrastructure and HCLFoundation’s expertise in community sports development to nurture sporting talent, encourage participation in sports and create pathways for young athletes to realize their potential.
As part of the collaboration, dedicated training programmes will be conducted in fencing, rugby and archery at designated NMC sports facilities. The initiative will provide access to daily training opportunities for participants, with a strong focus on inclusion, ensuring that 80% of participants are students from NMC schools and 20% are underserved children from surrounding communities. HCLFoundation will deploy trained sports professionals, including coaches and assistant coaches, while both organizations will jointly support participant mobilization, training, and performance development.
Promising young athletes identified through the programme will also be encouraged to participate in relevant sporting events and competitions organized under Sports for Change, enabling them to gain exposure and pursue excellence in sports.
Speaking at the MoU signing, Ms. Neeta Thakre, Mayor, Nagpur Municipal Corporation, said, “Sports play an important role in shaping confident, healthy and resilient communities. Through this partnership with HCLFoundation, we are strengthening opportunities for children and youth across Nagpur to access quality coaching, sports infrastructure and structured training. We are confident that this collaboration will help identify and nurture emerging talent while fostering a stronger culture of sports participation across the city.”
“Sport has the unique ability to inspire, unite and transform lives. At HCLFoundation, we believe that every child, regardless of their socio-economic background, deserves the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive through sports. This partnership with Nagpur Municipal Corporation reflects a shared commitment to strengthening grassroots sports ecosystems and creating pathways for young people to access quality sporting opportunities. By combining infrastructure, expertise and community engagement, we aim to foster an environment where talent can be identified early, nurtured consistently and encouraged to dream bigger,” said Dr. Nidhi Pundhir, SVP, Global CSR, HCLTech and Director, HCLFoundation.
HCLFoundation’s Sports for Change initiative harnesses the transformative power of sports to foster inclusion, leadership, confidence, resilience and holistic development among children and youth from underserved communities. Since its inception, the initiative has reached more than 74,000 children and youth across India through grassroots sports programmes. More than 22,000 young athletes have participated in Sports for Change national tournaments, while over 160 sports scholarships have been awarded to support excellence in sports through coaching, sports equipment, nutrition and access to training facilities.
The partnership with Nagpur Municipal Corporation marks another step in HCLFoundation’s ongoing efforts to strengthen local sports ecosystems and create equitable opportunities for children and youth to learn, play and thrive through sports.