Let’s football! Indian Super League kicks off
The Hero Indian Super League which kicked off yesterday is a tournament meant to showcase Indian footballing talents.
Hero Indian Super League is India’s unrivalled football championship scheduled to kick off on 12th October 2014. It is co-promoted by IMG-Reliance (the joint venture between IMG and Reliance Industries), Star India and supported by All India Football Federation (AIFF). India’s leading industrialists and celebrities from sports as well as the Indian film industry have invested in owning the Indian Super League’s eight franchises. These are based out of Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.
The League is committed to investing in stadium refurbishment in the eight identified venues and also to a strong grassroots development programme that will create a platform to groom football talent in the country. For the first time in Indian football, globally renowned footballers will be playing alongside the best Indian footballers. With a mission to revolutionise the sport, Hero Indian Super League is positioned as a high quality and dynamic league that will elevate Indian football to an international level.
MISSION
To engender an entertaining and high quality football league that engages hundreds of millions of fans, drives improvement in playing standards and delivers value for all partners.
VISION
For India to become a global football power and qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
OBJECTIVES:
To present an international-quality domestic football competition
To engage hundreds of millions of passionate and proud Indian football fans
To encourage and facilitate the masses to start playing the sport
To produce a large pool of increasingly talented Indian players and ‘heroes’ to play for the Indian national team
To set new standards of sports administration, governance and marketing in India
To deliver value to all our stakeholders and partners, and create demand for further investment
Atlético de Kolkata’s Baljit Sahni had a chance to create history yesterday by becoming the first goal scorer in the Hero Indian Super League. Skipper Luis Garcia sent him through along the right flank early on in the inaugural match at the Salt Lake Stadium, but the sturdy Punjabi striker was denied by Mumbai City FC goalkeeper Subrata Paul in a one-to-one situation.
Ethiopian striker Fikru Teferra then stole his thunder by opening his account in the 27th minute, grabbing all the accolades in the bargain. Sahni could have got onto the score sheet later on in the evening but Paul again rose to the occasion by parrying his powerful header following a pin point cross from Garcia.
The official website of Indian Super League is