Mumbai: The Indian Super League (ISL), a football tournament that will foster local talent and feature international stars, was officially launched on Thursday in the presence of top notch celebrities.
At the opening gala, representatives of the eight franchises joined Nita Ambani, founding chairperson ISL, Praful Patel, President AIFF and Pawan Munjal, Managing Director, HeroMotoCorp Ltd. to unveil the logo of the tournament— a football with the name of the competition and sponsors written on the periphery.
“ISL is an audacious dream to make India a footballing nation,” Nita Ambani said at the ceremony.Â
Adding 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. Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar is with Kochi franchise, while his contemporary and batting great Saurav Ganguly is associated with the Kolkata franchise.
The tournament conceptualized by Reliance India, IMG and Star India 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.
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