King Khan Invited To Open Indian League

According to reports published in a local daily, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been invited to open the inaugural I-League in Goa on November 24th by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

zoom - galleria King Khan is yet to accept the invite though. The idea of roping in a celebrity as big as the ‘21st century Don’ is to increase attention towards Indian football.

Shah Rukh Khan recently turned heads towards hockey with his ‘Chak De India’ and the AIFF hopes his presence will benefit the people’s game.

Meanwhile, the winners of this year’s I-League may receive an extra 10 lakhs this year, in addition to the existing prize of Rs.40, 00,000.

The prize money for every game is also likely to be increased.

AIFF had conducted a day-long seminar on the I-League for the top brass officials from the participating clubs.

Indian national team coach Bob Houghton opined that the top clubs who are part of the I-League must distance themselves from the local leagues, which must be run for the U-21 and youth teams.

The suggestion didn’t go well with the Kolkata clubs who believed that it could lead to problems with the sponsors and directly affect the crowds.

The AIFF was to release the fixtures list yesterday but now it has been postponed to Friday.

It is believed the Kerala Football Association (KFA) wants to move Viva Kerala’s matches from Kochi to Kozhikode on the grounds of poor conditions.

An AIFF team shall inspect the ground before taking any decisions on the matter.

Rahul Bali, Goal.com