Kolkata franchise pins hope on Atletico expertise

Co-owner of Kolkata franchise, Sourav Ganguly today said that Spanish side Atletico Madrid's keen interest in Indian Super League football tournament would be beneficial for the game in the country in long run.
Atletico Madrid, on their website, has already announced the name of the Kolkata team as Atletico de Madrid Kolkata even though the consortium of five entities is yet to do so.
"It's just out of passion... Actually we are happy that they (Atletico Madrid) are putting in a lot of interest. You can see it in some other way like they have jumped up and given the name," Ganguly, a former Indian cricket team captain, said in the city franchise's first official media interaction here.

"You have to accept that they are one of the best football teams in the world. We have to accept that if they become part of the Indian football, the sport will be benefited in the end.
"When a young footballer sees Atletico being the number one team in the La Liga ... Spain being the current holders of the World Cup, they will be benefited. Everything gets benefited. It's a good sign for us that the best side in the world has shown so much of interest in this franchise. I always say the sport has to take over at the end of the day."

The city franchise is the only team in the eight-team league to have on board a foreign club as the consortium is owned by Atletico Madrid, Ganguly and three top city-based industrialists in Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka and Utsav Parekh.
Asked if the Spanish giants would have the last word in the club, Ganguly said, "I'm not saying that. I categorically say that we may or may not go their way but what I'm trying to say is that it's great to see their interest.