Shaji Prabhakaran named chief advisor to GOAT India Tour – Messi

DELHI: Shaji Prabhakaran has stepped into the role of chief advisor for the GOAT India Tour – Messi, injecting the country’s most-watched sporting spectacle with the heft of a career forged across football, cricket and global sports governance.

Prabhakaran brings a formidable track record, shaped through senior roles at the Asian Football Confederation, South Asian Football Federation, All India Football Federation, FIFA, the International Cricket Council, Delhi Soccer Association and Delhi Sports University. He currently serves as founder and president of the Association for Sports Industry Professionals, is a member of the AFC finance committee, and co-founded the Khel India Sports Foundation. He also played a key part in the local organising committee of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup India 2022.

His earlier stints include secretary general at AIFF, CIES coordinator for South Asia, senior consultant at the AFC, strategic advisor to Hindustan Zinc and head of strategy and business partnerships at Domo Sports Grass. Across these roles, Prabhakaran has helped tighten governance structures, sharpen player development pipelines and expand India’s presence in global football.

With his appointment to the Messi tour, Prabhakaran is poised to push India’s sporting ambitions into a faster lane—raising the stakes, the standards and the spectacle.