Source: Deccan Chronicle
Date: October 9, 2014
Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan on Thursday joined the Indian Super League (ISL) bandwagon as he became a co-owner of FC Pune City, one of the eight franchises that will be competing in the tournament starting Sunday. The Rajesh Wadhawan Group-owned Pune franchise announced its association with the star here.
Roshan said, "I am honoured to be associated with the Indian Super League (ISL), which represents India's first effort at professional football. It is definitely the next big sporting brand in our country and will give young football talent a solid platform. I hope my partnership with FC Pune City adds further strength to the team and star players' football expertise."
Speaking on the development, Gaurav Modwel, CEO, FC Pune City said, "We are extremely pleased to have Hrithik Roshan as a co-owner of FC Pune City. He is a youth icon and his association with FC Pune City will give us a huge impetus in connecting with the youth. With the ISL, we want to make football a household name and the star power of Hrithik will help us drawing audiences across categories."
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Source:Times Group
By: Rohit Bhardwaj
Date: October 10, 2014
Hrithik Roshan is the latest celebrity to join the star-studded Indian Super League (ISL) line-up after he replaced Salman Khan as the coowner of FC Pune City on Thursday . It is rumoured that Salman backed out of the ISL citing branding issues and the Rajesh Wadhawan Group saw a great opportunity to rope in Hrithik, who is riding high after the success of his latest film Bang Bang.
This is Hrithik's first-ever association with a sports league and the actor feels it's his passion for football besides some coaxing from good friend Rajesh that prompted this move. “I believe in sport. I feel sport teaches a lot of things like discipline, team work, character. It takes a lot of courage to go out on the ground and perform.
When you talk about football, it is one game that is truly a man's sport, really tough. I am really happy that I got a chance to get associated with the ISL. Whatever I do I always think about my kids and what can empower them in the future and this is one such thing,“ Hrithik told TOI on Thursday .
“We need variety on the sporting front and what better than football which is a religion across the world.During my school days, I used to play more football than cricket and I always felt there was a lot of talent and passion ready to be explored but there wasn't a platform like this before. Thanks to Nita Ambani for creating such a league.When this opportunity came my way I grabbed it with both hands. I took it as a responsibility to take football forward. I am confident that ISL will take the nation by storm,“ he explained.
His busy schedule prevented Hrithik from following international football and even his short stint with the game at school was cut short due to injury .But having a team in the ISL has revived his interest in the beautiful game. “I was forced to leave football in school due to a knee injury . I also used to have shin splits whenever I played. I have had a hectic schedule of late. I can relax for a while and give quality time to my team. I want to channelize the success of my movie and transfer that energy into the team,“ Hrithik said.
The superstar confirmed that he will be present during the opening ceremony on October 12. “We have a great team. We have players like (David) Tre zeguet and Kostas (Katsouranis) who have had a great record in Europe. They have been training in Florence under one of the best coaches -(Franco) Colomba. So I am looking forward to meeting them soon, backing them to win it all. I will jump on the field and dance if we win,“ said the six-time Filmfare award winner.