On Friday, folks who actively participate in all the events trending on the world of twitter, were surprised to see a certain name emerging in a lot of messages. The day was certainly an eventful one for the Indian football fanatics and especially for those who love and follow the Goa based Dempo Sports Club. There was a new buzz aroundAi??the word ai???Dempoai??i??, which was bigger than the clubai??i??s recent I-League victory; evenAi??bigger than representing the nation in the semi finals of a continental tournament; becauseAi??Mr. Shah Rukh Khanai??i??s name was associated with the Goan based football club.
The mere impact of this news was such that the Panjim based football club was third in the world-wideAi??trending list for the day, above hot topics like Rowdy Rathore and iPhone – such was the impact of the ‘BrandAi??SRKai??i??.
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The whole Indian football following community had a smile on their face as the news of Bollywood Star ShahRukh Khan‘s proposed investment in the current I-League Champs broke among the social and then the print media of the nation. Shah Rukh, who also co-owns current IPL Champion team Kolkata Knight Riders, is believed to claim 50% stakes of the five times I-League champions, Dempo SC.
With the talks ai???progressing very wellai???, club chairman and the president of the Goa Football Association (GFA) Shrinivas Dempo was delighted to announce that:
His response has been very positive. Mr. Khan is very passionate about football and, apart from just involving himself in Dempo, he wants to do something for Indian football. He said that football was his first love even before cricket.”
The deal is set to progress towards closure in a few weeks time, close sources added on.
Many attempts have been made by the AIFF to lure some much needed publicity and eye balls for the beautiful game in India. From having Salman Khan visit the Ambedkar Stadium at the Nehru Cup final to John Abrahamai??i??s football academy, football in India has had its moments with the Bollywood stars, but this story has to top the list.
Although this being foreseen as a huge boost to the ai???not so hugeai??i?? status of Indian football, which is marred with low TV ratings and less popularity among the common sports lovers, the Goans are wary of the fact that this deal might take away the Goan essence, which every goan club takes pride in.Ai??Of course, this would be the case if Shah Rukh has a say in the team selection or other sensitive areas, and Mr Khan has had his head aches when it comes to Sourav Ganguly’s omission from the KKR team in IPL. After the recent Churchill deal, which for the first time saw a Goan club being supported from a Kolkata based company, the native followers fear the dreaded takeover by different companies. SRKai??i??s firm is just a big fish in this pool, which has shockingly emerged to be known by everyone in the past few days.
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Kolkataai??i??s ambassador and KKRai??i??s co-owner Khan was sure to lose a few friends, after this piece of rumor hit the media world, as the Bengaliai??i??s felt that he could have invested in any of the big clubs in Bengal itself. Former Indian captain Baichung Bhutia exclaimed on the opening of his soccer school in Mumbai that:
“Personally speaking, I’ve been fighting, discussing a lot to get some investors into my team United Sikkim. So SRK coming to football will not only help Dempo but also others.ai???
“The Kolkata clubs have many sponsors. They have Vijay Mallya sponsoring two teams. There is also Prayag Group. I don’t think the Kolkata clubs need SRK.”
Itai??i??s true that Dempo will benefit a lot if the deal materializes, but it will obviously help in increasing the fan base of other football clubs as well. SRK lovers would keep an eye on Dempo’s successAi??and the haters onAi??its failures. Either ways, it is Indian football which reaps the benefits. It is yet to be seen whether this has an ice-ball affect on Indian sports lovers or it fizzes out, just like a few feeble attempts in the past. Till then lets hope that things work out for the best ofAi??IndianAi??football.
Ai??
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