Your interest and passion in sport may have started almost by default with the Mumbai Indians team. The

Indian Super League

takes it to a different level altogether.

It must have been a tough haul, putting something as big as this in place. What kind of hurdles did you face?

You must be really excited now that everything is in place, with the big-bang launch today...

Personally, you have gone to great lengths to understand cricket so that you could be actively involved in running the MI team. How deeply will you be drawn into football, considering your busy schedule?

Cricket or football? Which sport do you think will eventually rule your heart?

What is your vision for the game, for the future of football in India?

How far are you, personally, and as a powerful conglomerate, going to go to make this a far out success? Also, will you be focusing mainly on the League or do you have any grassroots development plans too?

What kind of experience can fans expect at the stadium now? How different will it be, given that our stadiums are generally in a poor shape?

Would you say that this is a now-or-never moment for Indian football? That all those who love the game must put their hearts and souls into it to turn it into a success?

Can we hope to see the renaissance of football with the ISL?

The ISL not only hopes to rekindle the country's love for football but also to motivate millions of youngsters to take to the beautiful game. As the IMG-Reliance League is set for launch today, the inspiration behind it, Nita Ambani , speaks to the TOI on her dreams for Indian football.Indeed. The Indian Super League is an initiative that aims to revolutionise football in our country. It's the beginning of a new journey and we hope to inspire and motivate millions of youth to play this beautiful game. I am a teacher myself, and after being closely involved with the Mumbai Indians for six years now, I firmly believe that sport has the power to inspire and unite the youth. The ISL will aim to become the common language for the youth of our country.Hurdles are only in our mind, isn't it? I look at the other side of the coin and only see abundant opportunities in every challenge. We have worked persistently to come up with solutions to reach where we are today. We have put together a team of like-minded, motivated and aspiring youngsters to develop and promote football.Yes, of course, it's a good feeling. We all are very excited. However, I must say that these are initial years and we are taking baby steps. The road ahead is long before we take football to its deserving place in Indian sport. We have envisaged a dream for the country and we are fully committed to develop the sport across the length and breadth of the nation.I cherish my association with Mumbai Indians. It has been truly enriching, where I have started to appreciate the nuances of cricket. I must admit that these are early days for me in football, but my love for the beautiful game has been growing rapidly. Not just cricket or football, I am a believer in sports. Sport teaches values and life lessons that youngsters can use during their teenage years and beyond. I would like to see the energy of our youth being channelized in the right direction through the medium of sport.Both, and all other sports I must add, are a must-do for every youngster. For me, the values of sports are the prime motivating factor. Sport is vital for the holistic development of young people, fostering their physical, social and emotional health. Its benefits go way beyond the impact on physical well-being and I lay my importance on these other aspects.We are a nation of billion-plus but today most Indian fans, including my own two sons, only talk of EPL, La Liga or the Arsenals of the world. We are hoping to build a system to nurture talent and make our own national football heroes. There is no doubt in my mind on the immense potential India possesses. We have tried our best with our hearts. As the founding chairperson of Football Sports Development, my key area of focus would be on creating an eco-system for the grassroots programme on a national scale. Identifying and nurturing young athletic potential will be an important aspect of the League. This is just a beginning of India's football renaissance, and we will probably take time ­ maybe a few years for the holistic development of the sport ­ but we are willing to put in our energy and unwavering efforts. We would like to see India aspiring to play in the World Cup. But to reach there, the beginning had to be made today. As I said, we have envisaged a dream to become a footballing nation and we are committed to the sport.We need to look at both ends of the pyramid. Other than the marketability aspect of Indian football at the top, we equally felt the need to build the sport with a 'bottoms-up approach', with a strong grassroots programme. I remember the initial days when we were conceptualising the ISL. A lot of discussion was on the marketing aspect and the marquee players. While I understand these aspects were important for the League, I strongly felt the need for drawing our youngsters into the sport. They need to fall in love with it. Developing football across the country became our main moto; in fact, it was an important criterion for owning a club in the ISL. The League has factored and designed a long-term grassroots programme. The key here would be to first 'train the trainers', reach out to the coaches, PE teachers and volunteers and educating them on different phases of grassroots training. I would like to see millions of children just having fun with the ball. They should be able to run with the ball, dribble and just enjoy themselves. If we can introduce football to our little kids with an appropriate training curriculum, I think we will be heralding a new generation of footballers. The League's ambition is to quickly reach one million kids and hopefully 5 million by year 2018, through in-school and maidan initiatives. I am happy to have committed League Partners from eight cities who are aligned to the League's vision.I agree, the football infrastructure needs work on refurbishment and it's not something of an overnight job. We have been working over the last several months on overhauling and relaying the main playing pitch at all the stadiums. We wanted to provide our players the experience of playing on international standard pitches, we want to minimise injuries and ensure proper ball rollout during the games. Top locker room facilities and floodlights at each venue are the other important initiatives the League has undertaken. The club partners are also working enthusiastically in providing certain basic amenities in their home stadiums to ensure memorable and comfort able experience for fans.What we have with us is fully committed League Partners, the AIFF, First and Second division I ­League clubs, the Federation cup and the Santosh Trophy. We all are very excited about building a grand coalition so that football in India develops. It will be a small step in transforming India into a sporting nation.We will work relentlessly and that we are fully committed to the sport. We will collaborate and do everything it needs to take Indian football to greater heights.