ISL set for more Bollywood glitz as Delhi Dynamos and Jamshedpur FC look to rope in celebrity endorsers
ISL has always been adorned by celebrities
The upcoming edition of the ISL is set to be adorned by more glitz and glamour from the world of Bollywood as new entrants Jamshedpur FC along with two-time semi-finalists - the Delhi Dynamos are looking to add a celebrity endorser for the upcoming season.
Sources say Arjun Kapoor could be in line to get involved with Delhi Dynamos but the Lions hierarchy has kept the cards close to its chest so far.
Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda, about the situation, Rohan Sharma, the director of the Delhi Dynamos stated, "The new participation contract for the ISL season has a clause which states that every team will have to have a celebrity endorser. And we are looking into a few options.
"We are close to finalising the deal but we can't disclose anything till there is no signature on the dotted lines."
The Delhi team have so far been the only one of the original eight ISL teams not to have a celebrity brandishing their brand. Jamshedpur FC, meanwhile are looking to rope young Bollywood star Varun Dhawan according to a report from Goal.
Bollywood celebrities have been a huge part of the ISL and have acted as some of the biggest supporters as well as investors in the franchise based-league that began in 2014. The most prominent amongst these stars are Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham who are an ever-present throughout the season for their clubs - Chennaiyin FC and NorthEast United respectively.
Other Bollywood stars such as Hrithik Roshan and Ranvir Kapoor have a stake in FC Pune City and Mumbai City FC as well although there were talks that Hrithik Roshan might sell his shares in the club.
Clubs such as ATK, FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC have also had stars from other sports promoting their brand with the likes Virat Kohli, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni having shares in the clubs.
The Kerala Blasters franchise, meanwhile, is co-owned by Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar and other film stars like Chiranjeevi and Akkineni Nagarjuna.
The upcoming season of the ISL will be bigger than ever before with 10 teams participating in the tournament which will be played out across five months. And with an AFC Cup spot up for grabs, the season is set to be a very important one.
And with new stars being roped in the ISL is leaving no stone unturned in terms of making the upcoming season the grandest in history.