ISL franchise to represent entire region * ‘Firm believer in NE football talent’, says John Abraham
SHILLONG: With a strong belief in the footbal talent of the region, the owners of the Guwahati Indian Super League franchise announced the name of their team – North East United Football Club – at a press conference in Guwahati on Tuesday.
Co-owner and actor John Abraham, who was present at the launch, was thoroughly optimistic about the state of the sport in the region.
“I am a firm believer in the footballing talent that exists in the North East and I am proud to be associated with owning a football club from the region,” he said.
“Our objective is to harness the talent and combine the footballing potential of the region into one team that we hope will become an engine that will power Indian football forward.”
Abraham described the owners, who include Shillong Lajong FC, as football “purists” who want to focus on the football rather than glamour and financial considerations.
The ISL is scheduled to kick off from September to November. It has not been without its critics, some of whom have felt that the short tournament will distract from the I-League and thus harm Indian football.
Guwahati was one of eight cities – the others being New Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Bangalore, Pune, Goa and Kolkata – that were successful in their bids.
However, despite the options, Abraham, who is also a co-owner of Lajong – said that it was a no-brainer for him to bid for Guwahati, while Lajong managing director Larsing Ming Sawyan said that they were only interested in bidding for Guwahati and would rather have sat out the league entirely rather than bid for another city franchise.
“I hope we can show the rest of India what North East is and how we are the talent bed for football in India,” Abraham said.
“I really feel we can make the most of creating a platform to present the North East to the rest of India.”
Abraham also described himself as a “hands-on” owner, keen to involve himself in the workings of the club.
Asked by a journalist why Guwahati does not feature in the name of the club, Sawyan stressed on how the team could benefit from being a united North Eastern outfit.
“It is important to harness the collective identity and support of the people of the North East and harness the natural talent in football in this region,” Sawyan said. “If the North East stands united as one team, one people, one passion, then I think a team from this region has the potential to reach the top of Indian football.”
Abraham also noted the strong academy that SLFC has developed and added that NE United’s plans for further developing the sport in the region was a strong point of its bid for the franchise.
With Spanish champions Atletico Madrid taking a stake in the Kolkata team, the Guwahati owners were asked whether NEU will tie up with a foreign team as well.
Abraham responded by saying that the owners did not want to concede a stake to a foreign owner, but admitted that talks are ongoing with several clubs for an alliance of sorts.
An announcement on this issue is expected in around two weeks time, which is when the club also proposes to launch the team jersey.
The new franchise also gave no details about player selection, but four foreign players will come from Lajong with further numbers being picked from an ISL pool and scouts.
Sawyan added that nine youth players from the North East region will be included in the squad.
With corruption raising its ugly head in the Indian Premier League, Abraham made it clear that the owners are fully aware of the importance of honesty in the players’ and team’s performance.
“We have to keep football absolutely clean. I don’t mind standing eighth, so long as it’s an honest eighth,” he explained.
Other people present at the press conference were franchise co-promoter Sanjiv Narain, Bollywood producer and team adivisor Ronnie Lahiri, Assam Football Association’s H Brahma and Guwahati Sports Association’s Monin Nobis.