Sahara to sponsor Calcutta soccer league

After National Football League, the Calcutta Football League, the oldest league in Asia, is set to get corporate touch.

Sahara group will be sponsoring CFL for next five years.

The secretary of Indian Football Association, Subrata Dutta, said that Sahara group would sponsor all the football leagues run by IFA.

"They are sponsoring nursery league to premier league," he said.

According to him, the sponsorship would involve 259 teams and 1152 individuals.

"All the teams participating in CFL will have Sahara logo at the back," he added.

Besides, tie up with Sahara, IFA is also planning to tie up with a regional channel for telecast rights of CFL.

ÏFA president Aditya Kashyap informed that it was in talks with Enadu TV for similar tie-ups. The head of corporate communication of Sahara, Abhijit Sarkar, said that the group was also planning to start a scholarship scheme for young players.

"Sahara will spare no efforts in upholding the tradition of the league. The Sahara India football league is all set to begin and will work to bring back the golden days of Bengal soccer," he said.

Later, he said that besides, cricket, football and hockey, Sahara would also be looking at opportunities to sponsor other sports like athletics and archery.

"We want to sponsor few traditional sports in which we are strong," he added.