Indian Super League: Excited to have won the Kolkata franchise – Atletico Madrid

Spanish giants Atletico Madrid have expressed their delight on winning the Kolkata franchise of the Indian Super League. The La Liga side made a bid along with Sourav Ganguly, Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjeev Goenka and Utsav Parekh.

“I am very excited to have won the Kolkata franchise of the ISL and being the first international team to be directly owning a club in India we along with our Indian Partners and IMG-Reliance aim to revolutionise football in the country,” Atletico Madrid owner Miguel Angel Gil Marin stated.

Sachin Tendulkar will also be one of the owners of a franchise as he and PVP Ventures won the bid for the Kochi team.

“I will always remain a sportsman at heart who is keen to positively impact the sporting fabric of the nation. The Indian Super League presents a great opportunity to develop a platform for the youngsters to learn and enhance their talent to develop into outstanding players.

“It has been an interesting experience interacting with the young, passionate team at PVP Ventures led by Prasad Potluri. Based on the various insights shared by the team, the opportunity of the Kochi club seemed like a compelling and challenging proposition. With the Kochi club, we will strive to ‘score our goals’ and play a part in developing the game of football across the country,” Tendulkar said.

Prasad Polturi of PVP Ventures added, “We look forward to developing the Kochi club in the Indian Supper League and are proud to partner with one of India’s greatest sportsmen, Sachin Tendulkar, in our efforts. We will tap the potential talent as also channelize the fervour and passion for football across the country to enhance the quality and competitive level of the sport. The following and enthusiasm of football in the southern part of the country presents a fertile opportunity for us to execute our plans and leverage global expertise for the development of a world class club.”

DEN Networks won the ownership of the Delhi franchise and their chairman Sameer Manchanda said, “Soccer runs in the blood of every Indian and is a part of our sporting DNA. We see this in the millions of loyal and passionate viewers of the FIFA World Cup, the EPL and Champions League. The missing piece was a strong Indian league and ecosystem of state-of-the-art grounds and academies which the youth and soccer lovers could relate to.

“The Indian Super League is the beginning of a movement that will revolutionise Indian soccer and uncover the true potential of the sport in our county. It will be a dream come true when India plays in the FIFA World Cup finals.

“DEN Networks is proud to be associated with IMG Reliance and Star India in making the Indian soccer dream a reality. DEN’s roots in Delhi make it the ideal home to spearhead the city’s aspirations to become the champions of Indian soccer.”

The Pune franchise has been won by Salman Khan along with Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan of the Wadhawan Group.

“It is important that we provide India’s youth access to localised sporting action. Football is the world’s most favourite game and it attracts a huge wave of interest amongst us Indians. However, we do not have a domestic forum to bring this interest alive. Indian Super League provides this long-awaited platform to polarise India’s football interest. This league would then offer opportunities to millions of Indian youth to bring their dreams to reality. I am personally committed to this endeavour,” Kapil Wadhawan commented.

Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor won the Mumbai franchise along with Mumbai-based chartered accountant Bimal Parekh. After winning the bid, Ranbir, who is a Barcelona fan, stated, “It is a moment of great pride for me to be a part of the Indian Super League and to represent the vibrant city of Mumbai. Football has never been far away from my daily life since childhood, and now as a partner in the Indian Super League, I am looking forward to translate my passion into contributing to the growth of the sport.

“I firmly believe in the grassroots and community development program designed by the League organisers IMG Reliance, to popularize the game and that’s one thing which excited me to be part of this dream.”