It was an evening to remember for the people residing in ‘Mecca of Indian Football’ as a riot of colours lit the Salt lake skyline with much awaited ISl doing everything possible to strike the right chord with the football afficianado.
Touching the hearts of the football-loving crowd, chairperson of IMG-Reliance and founding Chairperson of Football Sports Development (ISl) Nita Ambani formally declared open the ISl. “Ami Indian Super league er Subho Suchona Korchi (I declare the auspicious opening of ISl) — I formally declare the Indian Super league open,” she said surrounded a rare amalgamation of Bollywood and cricket and world football celebrities who represented the eight franchises. The fireworks lit up the sky in a full capacity Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan to conclude a 45-minute opening ceremony as the 70,000 capcity crowd were treated to some eye-catching visual extravaganza. Amid the confluence of Bollywood superstars, renowned sportpersons, corporate magnates and politicians, it was master blaster Sachin Tendulkar who drew the maximum applause.