One could not imagine watching World Cuppers like Enzo Francescoli, and Jose Luis Brown sitting in the gallery at that time. One could hardly dream of watching legendary Roger Milla, Bobby Moore, and Eusebio from the stands. That was in the early 80s. But finally it became possible due to a city-based sports management company, Leisure Sports Management. This company helped Kolkata's football-loving people regain the rhythm as they might have been cherishing the lone memory of watching King Pele in the Mohun Bagan-Cosmos exhibition tie at the Eden Gardens in 1977. 

Leisure Sports Management (LSM), encouraged by the then All India Football Federation (AIFF) top brass initiated the introduction of an international football tournament in India, the Nehru Cup in 1982 at the Eden Gardens where the top teams from Latin America and Europe participated. 

Before the inception of LSM in 1974, the concept of managing sports events and promoting sports personalities in the country was almost non-existent. LSM’s contribution in this regard is unforgettable. I-league which was named National league before 2007, the country’s second most prestigious football league was introduced by the AIFF in association with LSM in 1996. It was LSM that brought Star Sports for the football in India first time. Not only football, the inception of the Premier Hockey league was made by this company that took Indian hockey to the international standard. LSM helped the senior national hockey team obtain a sponsor for the first time. 

The organization, apart from staging mega events like Afro-Asian Games, SAF Games has also come forward to nurture the potential kids in Miao Academy in Arunachal Pradesh since 2019. 

Director of this company S.S. Dasgupta speaking on the issue, explained, “We have been promoting sports as a whole for last more than four decades. We had a motive that along with the event we tried to contribute to the development of the respective sports disciplines. But nowadays, I observe several new sports management organizations which only have the motive of doing business. They bring top stars but without any constructive projects. I do not know how sport is promoted in this way?”

After almost a decade, LSM has been active to bring Lionel Scaloni, the World Cup-winning Argentine coach to Kolkata. Dasgupta said, “He will not come and attend felicitation programs. Rather we have arranged the workshop where our licensed coaches will have some important benefits.”