India and New Zealand discuss expanding sports cooperation as 2026 marks 100 years of sporting ties

Key facts

• Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a high-level ministerial meeting with the New Zealand sports delegation in New Delhi to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation in sports.
• The year 2026 marks 100 years of sporting ties between India and New Zealand, dating back to the 1926 Indian Army hockey tour to New Zealand.
• The Indian delegation included Hari Ranjan Rao, Secretary (Sports), senior officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Indian Olympic Association, and representatives from national sports federations.
• Priority sports identified for collaboration include rugby, rowing, canoeing, sailing, athletics, and cycling.
• The New Zealand delegation was led by Chris Bishop, Associate Minister for Sport and Recreation, and included Patrick John Rata, New Zealand High Commissioner to India, former international cricketer Ross Taylor, Raelene Castle, CEO of Sport New Zealand, and representatives from Hockey New Zealand, Athletics New Zealand, and Paralympics New Zealand.
• The discussions focused on the India-New Zealand Centenary Sports Cooperation Programme 2026, a year-long initiative to commemorate the centenary of sporting ties and expand collaboration in sports development, high-performance training, innovation, and people-to-people engagement.
• Both sides discussed organising a proposed 'India-New Zealand Sports and Culture Week' to be hosted across cities in both countries.
• A key focus was strengthening collaboration in high-performance sports through joint training camps, coaching exchanges, and knowledge sharing in sports science, analytics, and athlete performance systems.
• The discussions explored integrating New Zealand's coach development framework into the curriculum of the National Institute of Sports (NIS), Patiala.
• Both countries agreed to constitute a Joint Working Group to oversee implementation of the cooperation framework, nominate nodal officers, and establish a monitoring mechanism with periodic reviews.