Indian football fans are in for a treat as the star-studded Indian Super League, India’s grandest football tournament yet, prepares to open proceedings with a gala event on October 12.
Not only will the glittering opening ceremony see the biggest personalities from Indian sport take part but also bollywood star and international singer Priyanka Chopra will take to the stage with an opening performance at the Vivekananda Bharati Krirangan Stadium.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to inaugurate the tournament that will conclude on December 20.
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.
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), M S Dhoni (Chennai), Virat Kohli (Goa) and city's favourite son Sourav Ganguly (Kolkata) will all be on hand to launch the ISL which is intended to promote the sport in India.
"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."
At a throwaway price of just Rs 200 tickets are five times cheaper than the cheapest IPL ticket and the inauguration ceremony at the Salt Lake stadium with a 12,000 capacity looks set for a full house.
The likes of Nicolas Anelka, Alessandro Del Piero, Freddie Ljungberg, Robert Pires and David Trezeguet have been signed up by franchises to play in the inaugral competition.
