Atletico Madrid to launch Kolkata franchise Wednesday

Kolkata, May 5 (IANS) Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid, partners of the Kolkata franchise for the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL), will be arriving here Wednesday to launch the club for the new football league.

Club owner Miguel Angel Marin, club advisor Peter Kenyon, Emilio Gutierrez, director of marketing and Carlos Aguilera Martin, director of grassroots and head of Atlético Academy will be on a whirlwind tour to India.

The Kolkata franchise is the only one to have the backing of a prominent international football club. The co-owners of the franchise are former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, industrialists Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka and stock broker Utsav Parekh.

Athletico Madrid are on a high after their recent entry into the finals of the UEFA Champions League 2014.

Apart from the announcement, their itinerary also includes meetings with former footballers Pradip Kumar Banerjee, Chuni Goswami and Syed Nayeemuddin.

A short city tour to soak in Kolkata's heritage and culture is also scheduled with visits to the historic Victoria Memorial, Salt Lake Stadium and Mother's House.