Chennai: Indian football may never be the same again with gods of cricket like Sachin Tendulkar and M.S. Dhoni and Bollywood stars Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan all set to enter the game in Kolkata on Sunday.
The eight-team Indian Super League (ISL), modelled on cricket’s IPL, is football’s last-ditch bid to capture the imagination of the masses and sponsors. Despite its burgeoning population, India is ranked 158 in world football and the domestic league is struggling to attract eyeballs.
A brainchild of IMG and Reliance, the ISL will be played at home and away by franchisees based in Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Kochi, Goa, Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi. The top four will enter the two-legged semifinals and the winners will take home '8 crore. A private sports channel will telecast all the matches live.
Indian cricket team captain, Dhoni and actor, Abhishek Bachchan are co-owners of Chennaiyin FC, the ISL team from the city. Chennaiyin will face FC Goa in their first match on October 15 and take on Kerala Blasters at home on October 21.
