PTI
KOLKATA, OCTOBER 7
From Amitabh Bachchan to Sachin Tendulkar to Mukesh and Nita Ambani, the who's who of Bollywood, cricket and business world will attend the high profile opening ceremony of the Indian Super League at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan on October 12. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to inaugurate the tournament that will conclude on December 20, while Bollywood heartthrob Priyanka Chopra will set the stage on fire along with Varun Dhawan in a 45-minute opening ceremony that would begin at 5 pm.
As the league is co-promoted by IMG Reliance and Star India and has some high-profile owners and brand ambassadors from both Bollywood and cricketing world, the opening ceremony guarantees to be a fun-filled affair.
Being the co-owners of their respective teams, Abhishek Bachchan (Chennai), Ranbir Kapoor (Mumbai), Salman Khan (Pune), John Abraham (Guwahati), Varun Dhawan (brand ambassador Goa), Sachin Tendulkar (Kochi), MS Dhoni (Chennai), Virat Kohli (Goa) and city's favourite son Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata) are also set to promote football.
"Tell me who won't be there? We will have Amitabh, Abhishek, Salman, Ranbir then Sachin, Dhoni and the king of kings Sourav Ganguly. The stars will descend on Kolkata. The honourable CM will inaugurate the tournament. It will be an out of the world experience," Atletico de Kolkata co-owner Utsav Parekh said.
"Priyanka along with Varun will be the star performers and will be joined by more than 500 co-performers."
There will also be a host of top notch industrialists including Mukesh and Nita Ambani of the Reliance Industries Limited, Munjals (Hero Motocorp), Dani (Asian Paints) and Salgaocars who will grace the occasion along with Praful Patel, president of the All India Football Federation that is supporting the tournament.
Selling tickets at a throw-away price of Rs 200, the city franchise is confident of a sell-out crowd at the gigantic 120,000 capacity stadium in Salt Lake.
"It's very difficult to offer such quality football at such a price but we have managed to bring it down and offer the spectators wholesome entertainment. We are confident of pulling it off," the investment banker said adding that they have already sold 5700 tickets online.
Tickets are priced at Rs 200, 300 and 400 for general categories while for bucket seats one will have to sell out Rs 500, 750 and 1250 and Rs 2500 for a hospitality seat.
If one buys tickets for the first six matches the seventh match will be offered free.
Dhoni wants Football revolution in India with ISL
MS Dhoni, who prefers processes than results, is seeking a football revolution starting with the Indian Super League. The eight-team IPL-styled tournament starts on Sunday and the Indian cricket captain, who joined the soccer bandwagon by buying stakes on ISL team Chennaiyn FC, said he could not have lost out on an opportunity to kick off a new soccer journey in India.
"I used to be a goalkeeper in school and always enjoy playing and watching the game. I wanted to be associated with football so when the opportunity came to be a part of Chennaiyin FC I was ecstatic as this gives me a chance to connect with the city of Chennai again. I have played franchise cricket for this city so I know how supportive they are."
Dhoni added, "I am sure all the players of Chennaiyin FC will see how much love Chennai gives to their players. The Indian Super League is a fantastic platform for football to grow with so many big names associated with it. I look forward to an exciting season ahead but at the same time it's important that we develop the grassroots level and produce more football stars in India."
