Finally, the good times are here for Indian football. The Indian Super League (ISL), an unrivaled tournament that will foster local talent and feature international stars, will officially launch on partner channel today in the presence of top celebrities.
The tournament will kick-start on October 12 at Kolkata’s historic Salt Lake Stadium. In the opening fixture, Atletico de Kolkata will take on Team Mumbai. The eight-team tournament will have some of the brightest Indian talents playing along-side established international players. All the eight teams have already signed their marquee players.
Former Barcelona star, Luis Garcia will represent the Kolkata franchise, while France’s World Cup winner David Trezeguet has tied up with Pune. Former England goal-keeper and Spain’s World Cup winner Joan Capedevilla are with Kochi and North East franchises respectively. Besides, Ricki Herbert, Harm van Veldhoven, Franco Colomba and Antonio Lopez Habas have been roped in to manage the teams.
Adding that much needed marketing and promotional boosts to these franchises are some of India’s hottest screen stars like Ranbir Kapoor for Mumbai, John Abraham for North East and Salman Khan for Pune. But the biggest inspiration for anyone is the presence of India’s greatest sportsman Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master is with Kochi franchise, while his contemporary and batting great Saurav Ganguly is associated with the Kolkata franchise.
During the opening gala, the official website of ISL will also be launched.
