MUMBAI: The most anxiously awaited Hero Indian Super League (ISL) finally unveiled its official emblem at a grand event attended by the organisers and franchise team owners. The league also saw the unveiling of its official line- ‘Let’s Football.’
At the beginning, IMG Reliance chairperson Nita Ambani said, “ISL hopes to act as a foundation in creating an ecosystem to nurture talent and make our own national football heroes.” She also added that the Reliance Foundation plans to reach out to 10 lakh kids in India for the first year to help them play the game of football at the micro level.
‘Let’s Football’ – is an apt fit to its ambition in connecting with today’s youth and creating interest in millions to play the sport professionally. The emblem with hexagons combined to form a football symbolises collaboration of passion, energy and enthusiasm among its stakeholders. Colours chosen to represent the league conveys the values and emotions, with red signifying the energy, passion and action, while blue exudes confidence, trust and responsibility; both seamlessly combining to represent the league’s values.
Star India COO Sanjay Gupta commented, “This is the birth of a footballing nation. This is something that has never been attempted before and marks a historic turning point for the future of football in India. What you will experience is a world class spectacle-in stadium, on television, on your mobile screen and across all digital devices.”
“We plan to attract and nurture the best of Indian talent to play with marquee players selected from 20 countries, spanning five continents,” added Gupta.
The event began with Nita Ambani leading the eight league partners to sign a pledge- committing to the vision of ISL, which is to bring a football revolution across the country.
IMG football vice president Andy Knee said, “The potential for football in India is truly immense and the ambition for the league is to spark a revolution for the game so as to encourage teenagers, even hundreds of millions of Indians to start playing, following and watching the sport.”
Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan was declared as the new team owner of the Chennai franchise. Joining him were other owners like Sachin Tendulkar, John Abraham, Ranbir Kapoor, Sameer Manchanda, Utsav Parekh, Kapil Wadhawan, Team Goa ambassador Varun Dhawan among others like AIFF president Praful Patel.
Each of the teams said that they would help develop football at the grass root level, the announcements of which will be made in the weeks to come.
Scheduled to kick off on 12 October 2014, the Hero Indian Super League will see some of the greatest players in action from the world of football.
