GUWAHATI, Sept 30 - To recognise the North-east�s immense contribution to football, the opening ceremony of the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) will celebrate the cultural diversity and spirit of the eight northeastern States � Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
The North-east region has consistently groomed talented football professionals who have represented some of the biggest clubs in the country as well as the national team.
NorthEast United owner John Abraham today accompanied ISL founder and chairperson Nita Ambani to Guwahati ahead of the much-awaited opening ceremony.
Abhishek Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandes and Varun Dhawan too also landed in the city today with the latter three slated to put up a spectacular performance.
Mumbai City FC owner Ranbir Kapoor, Kerala Blasters FC owner Sachin Tendulkar and Chennaiyin FC owner MS Dhoni will be reaching the city tomorrow.
�The opening ceremony will have a local North-east flavour with the famed Shillong Chamber Choir, which has enthralled audiences across the globe, slated to perform. The scintillating ceremony will see over 500 artistes and drummers from the North-east come together to perform amidst a spectacular show,� an organizing official said.
India�s only Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu who brought glory to India at the Summer Olympics 2016 is the star attraction at the grand sports event.
Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandes and Varun Dhawan have been putting in long hours into the intense practice sessions for the opening ceremony act which promises to be a cracker of a performance.
Gates to Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium will open at 3 pm, with the spectacular star- studded opening ceremony featuring Bollywood stars to commence at 5:30 pm.
One can catch the opening ceremony on Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2, Star Gold, Star Gold HD, Star Jalsha Movies, Star Jalsha Movies HD, Asia Net Movies, Vijay Super and Hot Star (deferred live) from 6:15pm.
The first match of Hero ISL between home side NorthEast United FC and Kerala Blasters FC will kick-off at 7 pm sharp. The two teams missed out on qualification to the semi-finals of the league and they will be looking to go that extra mile this year.
North East United FC owner John Abraham does not believe in superstitions but he will surely love to know the fate of teams who host opening ceremonies in the Hero Indian Super League (ISL).
When Atletico de Kolkata hosted the opening match in the inaugural ISL in 2014, they ended up finishing as the ultimate champions, while Chennaiyin FC emerged winners of the second edition of ISL after hosting the opening match in Chennai. Quite a coincidence!
This year, the special honour of hosting the opening match has been bestowed upon NorthEast United, and previous trends suggest the region, along with the owner, should be jumping in joy at the opportunity.
The Bollywood star though is relatively calm. �I am not a superstitious man, but when it is a happy co-incidence like this one is, we all hope that our dreams....the dreams of all the fans of the North-East can come true this year,� said John.
