A look at the celebrity owners in the Indian Super League

The Hero Indian Super League has not just provided the Indian Football players with a great platform to showcase their talent and grow themselves as a player, it has got a glamour quotient to the game of football in India, a country that rarely looked beyond cricket when it comes to sports.Football has forced people to make a space for it in their daily routines. A lot of it has been down to a host of celebrities getting involved in the league and making a major investment in the ISL.The array of super stars attached to the ISL has given the league the added push it needed to reach every household in this country. We take a look at the different celebrity owners in the Hero Indian Super League who have had a helping hand in promoting the game of football in India:

#1 John Abraham (NorthEast United FC)

John Abraham has done all he can to generate support for his team

Bollywood superstar John Abraham virtually owns the whole of NorthEast United with over 90% of the stake in the franchise. Abraham took over the stake of I-League club, Shillong Lajong in the franchise after the club decided to withdraw their stake. John though, has been greatly committed to the cause and has put in a great effort to promote the team on a global stage.

Recently, John Abraham and NorthEast United received best wishes from arguably the best player on earth, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The moviestar has used his popularity well and the franchise has remained committed to the growth of football in the NorthEast and the team features numerous players from that region. John Abraham’s presence in the stands, during NorthEast United matches is an added attraction for people flocking to the stadium.

#2 Sourav Ganguly (Co-owner, Atletico de Kolkata)

Sourav Ganguly's Atletico de Kolkata epitomise his fighting spirit on the field

When the Kolkata franchise was announced, there was no better person than Sourav Ganguly to be part of the franchise as a co-owner. Ganguly is worshipped in that part of India and the football loving people of Kolkata have found yet another reason to follow Atletico de Kolkata.

Atletico de Kolkata are also owned by Spanish club Atletico Madrid and Dada’s understanding of the game comes handy while running the club in conjunction with their Spanish partners.

Being a Bengali, football runs in Ganguly’s blood and having an owner who understands the game so well is an asset to the franchise. Ganguly is the obvious crowd puller in Kolkata and is one of the reasons behind packed houses in the Salt Lake stadium for virtually every game.

#3 MS Dhoni and Abhishek Bachchan (Co-owners, Chennaiyin FC)

MS Dhoni has continued his connnection with Chennai while Abhishek Bachchan is a very passionate owner

MS Dhoni can call Chennai his second home after he became the co-owner of Chennaiyin FC in the Hero Indian Super League. Dhoni has a great fan following in Chennai, thanks to him captaining the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL to some major glories in the past. With Chennai’s love for Dhoni evident, it was a smart move by Dhoni to opt for a stake in the Chennai club.

Dhoni has a long relation with football after he started out as a goalkeeper playing the beautiful game, before switching to a wicket-keeper’s role in cricket. He understands the game well too having played it and that’s an added advantage.

Abhishek Bachcan is another super owner in the Indian Super League and he owns a stake in Chennaiyin FC. Abhishek is almost like a fan in the stands and dedicatedly supports his team in every game. Bachchan, who is a fan of English Premier League Champions, Chelsea is a keen follower of the game.

Abhishek has found a great connect with the fans of the SuperMachas after his celebration with Bernard Mendy which became part of ISL season one’s success. We often see the entire Bachchan family turning up for games when Chennaiyin FC plays and that lights up the atmosphere even more during games.

#4 Sachin Tendulkar (Co-owner, Kerala Blasters)

The Master Blaster has enjoyed his time as owner of the Kerala Blasters

The God of Indian Cricket found his match in God’s own country, Kerala as the master blaster co-owns the Kerala Blasters. With recent reports stating that Sachin has taken over majority of the stake in the franchise, it could only be great news for the Blasters.

Having an owner like Sachin Tendulkar, for a franchise based in the football crazy state of Kerala has resulted in massive crowd turnouts for almost all the games in Kochi.

Sachin Tendulkar is a great inspiration for everyone at the club and Kerala Blasters coach Peter Taylor recently expressed great pride in having him attached to the club and the legend’s presence at home matches is always appreciated by the Blasters fans.

#5 Virat Kohli (Co-owner, FC Goa)

Virat Kohli is living his interest in football through part-ownership of FC Goa

Virat Kohli is yet another cricketer who co-owns an ISL franchise. Although he has a minority stake in FC Goa, Kohli, who is considered India’s best cricketer at present, is the face of the club and represents a team full of youthful talent.

Kohli and co. did great to attract a manager of Zico’s stature who could be of great benefit to Indian Football. The franchise epitomises his youthful zest and endeavour and have given chances to many local players to prove themselves, with the example of Romeo Fernandes standing out.

Virat Kohli’s presence at the venue might be limited due to his cricket commitments, but having him as the owner could pull a lot more youthful fans who adore him as a cricketer and follow him as a brand.

#6 Hrithik Roshan (Co-owner, FC Pune City)

Hrithik Roshan has done his bit to ensure that Pune's home matches have proper support for his team

Hrithik Roshan, the sensational Bollywood actor, co-owns the FC Pune City franchise and also looks at the operations at the club. Italian club AFC Fiorentina owns a 15% stake in the Pune franchise.

He is critical to the club as he is the chief crowd puller for a city that lacks a central football culture. The fact that he goes out of his way to try and get more celebrities to come and watch Pune’s matches has seen the crowd strength slowly increase.

Roshan’s dedicated service to the club seems to have started bearing fruits as FC Pune City have assembled a terrific squad for the second season of the Hero Indian Super League and their performances so far show that they are very serious about succeeding this season.

#7 Ranbir Kapoor (Co-owner, Mumbai City FC)

Ranbir Kapoor has been a constant source of support for the Mumbai City players

Ranbir Kapoor co-owns Mumbai City FC and like Abhishek Bachchan, he too is a super fan who is present at every game his team plays and cheers his heart out.

The legendary Kapoor family is naturally inclined to supporting Mumbai City FC and lot of other stars from the family like Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh and Kareena Kapoor have been regulars at games when the Blue Devils play.

Nicolas Anelka praised Ranbir Kapoor ahead of their ISL season and felt he had good understanding of the game. Kapoor is a Barcelona fan and his team colors of blue and red give us a small hint about that.