Arsalan Hyder Shah

founder of Game Sports Management

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Arsalan Hyder Shah is the founder of Game Sports Management. He moved from managing Wasim Akram to building a full sports business. He says his company is apparently the only sports management firm in Pakistan covering all sports.

Early life and background

Shah describes himself as a lifelong Karachiite. His father served in the Air Force, and the family lived in Peshawar, Islamabad, Hasan Abdal and Mianwali. [1]

Early business ventures

Around 2003 Shah started a small tech firm that did software and design work. He also started a magazine called Take One. He says earning in US dollars translated very well, and that around 70 people worked for his company. [1]

Shah says things were going well until a slump came in 2008. He says the downfall came when business stopped and overheads were very high. He says one year in hibernation gave him an idea. He describes himself as someone who is not a techie but knows how to sell. [1]

Chemist Pakistan

Shah built Chemist Pakistan, a website to deliver medicines to homes. He says it received orders but lacked third-party delivery systems at the time. He says the whole ecosystem had changed after four years. [1]

Game Sports Management

Shah says Wasim Akram was his first client. A friend called him out of the blue and suggested he work with Wasim Akram. He says it has been 16 years since his first meeting with Wasim Akram. In 2010 he closed a Dubai deal that involved bringing Wasim Akram to open an outlet. His agency works with Wasim Akram and with other clients. [1]

Shah says the agency holds five-year contracts with a small group of players but does not sign contracts with everyone. He says it screens prospective clients before taking them on, and that it does not want too many clients and wants to stay focused. The agency gives clients a three to five year plan, and the company plans one year, three years and five years ahead. [1]

Shah says what the agency does is correct the direction of those it works with. He says the agency sometimes tells clients beforehand that it is coming in on equity. He also says streaming platforms look for talent, and that is where his company comes in. [1]

Digital media

Shah says he has worked in digital media for about 15 years. He says he was one of the first people to experiment on Facebook when it opened. [1]

Views on sports management

Shah says a management agency is not one that just takes a cut and is supposed to do everything for the client. He describes sports management as a commercial industry in which he is supposed to make money for his clients. He says all the money should go to the client first, and the agency then takes a small percentage. He says to keep things black and white, with no grey area. [1]

Shah says trust is built over time and there is no shortcut, and that one needs to trust the process. He speaks of a sweet spot in which both sides of a deal are happy. He advises taking a deal worth a million when it is on the table, saying it can turn into a larger deal within three to five months. He says knowing what not to do matters more than knowing what to do. He says he would not call himself an expert, but he has been doing it for the longest. [1]

Shah says the majority of sports agencies came into being after the PSL, and they were not seasoned sports managers. He says everyone has business sense, but business acumen is not universal. [1]

Views on the sports industry

Shah says sports as an industry is an entertainment industry. He says the sports world has lacked storytellers, and that is the missing piece. He says people think the best player in the world may create the industry. He says the glamour of the PSL is in the storytelling. [1]

Shah proposes quarterly city-wide leagues between Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. He says brands are in business to make money, not to support talent, and that government will not drive sports growth, so the private sector is needed. He says an Olympic contingent that once numbered 70 to 80 people last went with 14, and that it takes three years to pay prize money. [1]

Shah says a star must perform on the ground first, then off it, then build personality and aura. He says a star is not made by digital numbers alone, and that the question is whether to perform on social media or on the ground. He says being a star and winning medals do not feed you. He says a content creator is not just someone who comes and dances on screen, and that Gen Alpha and Gen Z are the ones taking traction now. [1]

Timeline

2003
Started a small tech firm that did software and design work[1]
2008
A slump came after things had been going well[1]
2010
Closed a Dubai deal that involved bringing Wasim Akram to open an outlet[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-11-24 Pakistan has the athletes. It has not built the audience to pay them. Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Arsalan Hyder Shah?

Arsalan Hyder Shah is the founder of Game Sports Management. He moved from managing Wasim Akram to building a full sports business.[1]

What does Arsalan Hyder Shah do?

Arsalan Hyder Shah is the founder of Game Sports Management, a sports management company. He says his agency works with Wasim Akram and with other clients. He says his company is apparently the only sports management firm in Pakistan covering all sports.[1]

Where did Arsalan Hyder Shah study?

Arsalan Hyder Shah attended a college in Karachi. He also attended ZABIST and started a BBA there. He dropped out by choice because he had started his own work.[1]

Where is Arsalan Hyder Shah from?

Arsalan Hyder Shah describes himself as a lifelong Karachiite. His father served in the Air Force, and the family lived in Peshawar, Islamabad, Hasan Abdal and Mianwali.[1]

What company did Arsalan Hyder Shah found?

Arsalan Hyder Shah is the founder of Game Sports Management. He says his company is apparently the only sports management firm in Pakistan covering all sports.[1]

What was Chemist Pakistan?

Chemist Pakistan was a website built by Arsalan Hyder Shah to deliver medicines to homes. He says it received orders but lacked third-party delivery systems at the time.[1]

How long has Arsalan Hyder Shah known Wasim Akram?

Arsalan Hyder Shah says it has been 16 years since his first meeting with Wasim Akram. He says Wasim Akram was his first client.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan has the athletes. It has not built the audience to pay them. . Thought Behind Things , 2025-11-24.
Show the source passages (63 statements)
  1. The episode description identifies Arsalan Hyder Shah as the founder of Game Sports Management. joined by the founder of Game Sports Management, one of Pakistan’s few companies
  2. He moved from managing Wasim Akram to building a full sports business. From managing Wasim Akram to building a full sports business
  3. He describes himself as a lifelong Karachiite. I have been a Karachiite throughout my life and cannot imagine myself being, you know, living somewhere else.
  4. His father served in the Air Force. I have been an Air Force brat. Dad was from Air Force.
  5. His family lived in Peshawar, Islamabad, Hasan Abdal and Mianwali. we have lived in Peshawar, we have lived in Islamabad, we have lived in Hasan Abdal, Mianwali
  6. He attended a college in Karachi. Karachi again, PF College, Faisal.
  7. He attended ZABIST and started a BBA there. Went to ZABIST, one of the best times of my life. Started BBA over there
  8. He dropped out by choice because he had started his own work. ended up dropping out by choice because apna kaam shuru kar diya tha.
  9. Around 2003 he started a small tech firm that did software and design work. started my own small small thing by the by in a tech firm, jisme software hum log karte the, designs karte the back in 2003.
  10. He started a magazine called Take One. started my own magazine by the name of Take One, which was an advertiser.
  11. He says earning in US dollars translated very well. And when you used to, I mean when you used to earn in USD, that that used to translate really well.
  12. He says around 70 people worked for his company. We had around 70 people working for us.
  13. He says things were going well until a slump came in 2008. And then came 2008. It was going all well. Phir woh jo slump aaya, oh ho ho.
  14. He says the downfall came when business stopped and overheads were very high. What led to the downfall was business just stopped. Business just stopped. I mean, then overheads were so high.
  15. He says he is not a techie but knows how to sell. I'm not a techie. I'm not a techie. I never was a techie, but I know how to sell.
  16. He says one year in hibernation gave him an idea. That that one year in hibernation gave me the idea.
  17. He built Chemist Pakistan, a website to deliver medicines to homes. In that time I made this site Chemist Pakistan. Because hum tech wale the, humne kaha let's make Chemist Pakistan where we can deliver medicines to houses.
  18. He says Chemist Pakistan received orders but lacked third-party delivery systems at the time. Aate the orders, but we had no third party delivery systems available back in those days.
  19. He says the whole ecosystem had changed after four years. After four years, we had Dawago. You know, the whole ecosystem changed at that time.
  20. He says Wasim Akram was his first client. He was my first client.
  21. A friend called him out of the blue and suggested he work with Wasim Akram. Out of the blue, I get a call from a friend of mine saying, Arsalan, you own the magazine. Why not, you know, you do you do fashion shows, you do a lot of events. And why not work with Wasim Akram?
  22. He says it has been 16 years since his first meeting with Wasim Akram. When I met him, the first meeting and till date it has been 16 years.
  23. He says a management agency is not one that just takes a cut and is supposed to do everything for the client. We are not an agency which just takes, you know, a cut of what they bring. A management agency is supposed to do everything for you.
  24. He says his agency screens prospective clients before taking them on. We do our scrutiny. We have to make sure that whosoever is coming on board needs to have that substance.
  25. His agency works with Wasim Akram and with other clients. not only for Wasim bhai, for everyone else
  26. He says the agency holds five-year contracts with a small group of players. We have, you know, a small pack of players who we have five year contracts with.
  27. He says the agency does not sign contracts with everyone. We do contracts but not with everyone.
  28. He says his company is apparently the only sports management firm in Pakistan covering all sports. we are the apparently the only sports management company in Pakistan which caters to all the sports in Pakistan, whether it be cricket, football, hockey.
  29. In 2010 he closed a Dubai deal that involved bringing Wasim Akram to open an outlet. 2010, one big deal I closed in Dubai where I was supposed to take Wasim Akram and make him do the opening of this outlet and all.
  30. He says he would not call himself an expert, but he has been doing it for the longest. I won't say I'm an expert on it, but I have been doing it for the longest.
  31. He describes sports management as a commercial industry in which he is supposed to make money for his clients. It's a commercial industry where you are supposed to make money and I'm supposed to make money for you.
  32. He says trust is built over time and there is no shortcut. That trust comes, build and builds with time. Shortcut nahi hai, unfortunately, se koi shortcut hai hi nahi.
  33. He says all the money should go to the client first, and the agency then takes a small percentage. Sara paisa aapke paas jana chahiye pehle. Wahan se hum ek chota sa percentage lete hain usmein se.
  34. He says to keep things black and white, with no grey area. And keep it black and white. No grey area.
  35. He says the majority of sports agencies came into being after the PSL, and they were not seasoned sports managers. majority of the sports agencies came into being after PSL. Hmm. And those were not seasoned, uh, sports managers.
  36. He speaks of a sweet spot in which both sides of a deal are happy. There is a sweet spot there where you are happy and the client is happy
  37. He says the agency gives clients a three to five year plan. It's a literally three to five year plan that we give to you.
  38. He says the company plans one year, three years and five years ahead. We have one year plan, three year plan and a five year plan.
  39. He says the agency does not want too many clients and wants to stay focused. We do not want too many clients on board. It's all about focus.
  40. He advises taking a deal worth a million when it is on the table, saying it can turn into a larger deal within three to five months. If there is a deal on the table worth a million, shut up and take it. Because that one million deal will translate into a two million one after three months or five months.
  41. He says knowing what not to do matters more than knowing what to do. Knowing what not to do is more important than in knowing what to do.
  42. He says sports as an industry is an entertainment industry. Sports as an industry is an entertainment industry. It's plain and simple, right?
  43. He says the sports world has lacked storytellers, and that is the missing piece. I think the genius that has been missing in all of this has been people have has been storytellers uh in the in the sports realm.
  44. He proposes quarterly city-wide leagues between Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. let's create quarterly city-wide league based woh aur usmein hum Islamabad versus Lahore versus Karachi karwayenge
  45. He says brands are in business to make money, not to support talent. Brand to nahi is they are not in the business of supporting talent. They are in the business of making money.
  46. He says government will not drive sports growth, so the private sector is needed. So government is not going to do it. You you probably require private sector and we have examples of across the world where to be honest, private sector has enabled um the entire ecosystem to sustain.
  47. He says people think the best player in the world may create the industry. People think it's the players. You get the best player in the world and maybe that's going to create the industry.
  48. He says the glamour of the PSL is in the storytelling. Everybody says PSL has much better quality in terms of cricket than IPL, but what I'm saying is even if it didn't, the glamour is in the storytelling, right?
  49. He says an Olympic contingent that once numbered 70 to 80 people last went with 14. Olympic ka woh contingent jo ek waqt mein 70-80 logon ka jaata tha, last 14 logon ka gaya hai.
  50. He says it takes three years to pay prize money. 3 saal lag jaate hain prize money dene mein.
  51. He says a content creator is not just someone who comes and dances on screen. Content creator is not just coming and dancing on screen.
  52. He says one needs to trust the process. Simple, bottom line, you need to trust the process.
  53. He says he has worked in digital media for about 15 years. Mujhe 15 saal ho gaye taqreeban digital media mein.
  54. He says he was one of the first people to experiment on Facebook when it opened. jab Facebook khula tha na to main us time ke upar I was the one, one of the first ones to experiment there.
  55. He says Gen Alpha and Gen Z are the ones taking traction now. Traction kaun le raha hai? Gen Alpha and Gen Z.
  56. He says what the agency does is correct the direction of those it works with. What we do as agency is we just correct their direction.
  57. He says streaming platforms look for talent, and that is where his company comes in. Just to add to it, you know, Tamasha, Tapmad, all these streaming platforms, as of now, where do they take their talent from? That's where we come in.
  58. He says a star must perform on the ground first, then off it, then build personality and aura. First you perform on ground, then you perform off ground, then you need to carry the personality, then you need to carry a small aura and then you build on to it.
  59. He says a star is not made by digital numbers alone. star is not made just by the numbers on the digital media.
  60. He says the question is whether to perform on social media or on the ground. Ke yaar social media pe hum perform karein ya wahan perform karein.
  61. He says the agency sometimes tells clients beforehand that it is coming in on equity. Ya pehle bata dete hain ke bhai, we are coming into equity, we are also a part of the equity
  62. He says everyone has business sense, but business acumen is not universal. Business sense har kisi mein hota hai, business acumen nahi hota.
  63. He says being a star and winning medals do not feed you. Being a star and medals, they don't feed you. They don't feed you.