The Indian Super League (ISL) is back. Already into its third week now, the ISL features of some the best local and international talent in football.
Even though the tournament was in the works since 2010, it was only in 2014 that the first edition began. A total of eight teams were a part of the league in 2014 and they were the Atlético de Kolkata, Chennaiyin FC, Delhi Dynamos FC, Mumbai City FC, FC Pune City, FC Goa, Kerala Blasters FC and NorthEast United FC.
All these teams had a home ground and just like any other football league, they had to play games at both their home stadium and the opposition's one. The inaugural edition was won by none other than the Atlético de Kolkata. The team was excellent throughout the tournament. Anyway, football is extremely popular in the West Bengal and therefore fans flocked to the stadiums to cheer their home team in large numbers.
Apart from the intense matches, the league provides a lot of entertainment as well. Most the matches are graced by a lot of celebrities and they even perform at the opening and closing ceremonies of the league.
Famous Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor owns a part of the Mumbai City FC franchise. He is often spotted at the team's matches and even though they finished second last in the 2014 edition, Ranbir continued to cheer them on and hoped for a better performance this year.
Other actors who bid in the auction were John Abraham and Salman Khan. Even retired cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly own stakes in different teams. In fact, Sourav owns a part of Atlético de Kolkata, the team that took home the coveted title last year.
Even the players take the games very seriously and the competition is extremely fierce. Football players from different countries have signed up with teams and it's a good learning experience for even the local talent.
The league has also helped in increasing the popularity of football in this cricket loving nation. Also it gives a lot of exposure for Indian football players who have never managed to make it to the international circuit. This could also help in opening avenues for them with lesser known international clubs. If they manage to do so then there’s nothing like it.
