Actor
Ranbir
Kapoor,
who
has
stakes
in
the
Mumbai
City
Football
Club
(FC)
franchise
of
the
Indian
Super
League
(ISL)
football
tournament,
believes
Bollywood
celebrities'
involvement
in
sports
in
the
country
is
beneficial
in
many
ways.
Apart
from
Ranbir,
the
ISL
has
star
team
co-owners
such
as
John
Abraham
and
Abhishek
Bachchan,
while
Varun
Dhawan
endorses
the
Goa
team.
"It's
a
great
thing,
and
every
sport
should
be
encouraged
in
the
country.
Cricket
is
our
first
love,
but
that
doesn't
mean
we
should
not
give
kabaddi
or
football
a
platform," the
31-year-old
said
here
recently
at
the
launch
of
his
football
club.
"More
than
anything,
you
are
giving
opportunities
to
the
youth
to
become
a
football
player
or
kabaddi
player
and
not
necessarily
a
cricketer,"
he
added.
Abhishek,
whose
team
Pro
Kabaddi
League
franchise
Jaipur
Pink
Panthers,
won
Sunday
night,
is
also
part-owner
of
the
Chennai
franchise
of
the
ISL.
John
Avraham
is
the
co-owner
of
NorthEast
United
FC,
while
Varun
Dhawan
is
the
brand
ambassador
of
FC
Goa.
Ranbir
stated
that
everyone
involved
in
the
ISL
will
strive
to
make
the
league
engaging
and
hopefully
it
will
lead
to
the
creation
of
a
very
good
Indian
football
team.
"It's
about
the
quality
of
the
game
and
how
well
Star
Sports
markets
the
game.
All
the
people
who
are
involved
-
like
IMG
Reliance,
Hero,
franchise
owners
and
everyone,
wants
to
put
their
best
foot
forward
and
create
a
league
that
is
engaging
and
entertaining
and
has
quality
football.
"Hopefully
we
can
have
our
own
Indian
football
team
which
can
play
in
the
World
Cup," Ranbir
said.
The
inaugural
season
of
the
Hero
ISL
will
be
played
from
Oct
12
to
Dec
20
in
eight
Indian
cities.
Bollywood
star
Salman
Khan
is
a
co-owner
of
the
Pune
franchise.