Sourav Ganguly is one of the co-owners of the Atletico de Kolkata Sourav Ganguly is one of the co-owners of the Atletico de Kolkata

The Kolkata franchise of the much awaited Indian Super League was finally inaugurated as Atletico De Kolkata in the state of West Bengal. Emphasizing on the importance of providing the right football education to youngsters in India, Atletico De Madrid expressed its anticipation and dreams towards the Indian team.

Taking the prompt from Spanish co-owners and UEFA Champions League finalist Atletico De Madrid, owner and CEO of the latter Miguel Angel Gil Marin along with city based co-owners former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, industrialists Harsh Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka and Utsav Parekh unveiled the team but said that they were yet to finalize their jersey as they were awaiting approval from the ISL.

Miguel Angel Gil Marin, owner of the Atletico De Madrid said, "Thanks for placing your trust in Atletico De Madrid. It is great proud for us to come to your country and to Kolkata. Thank you for your warm hospitality in the city."

"There are two reasons why Atletico decided to come to India and in particular to Kolkata. Atletico loves football. To expand our brand to Asian market, our franchise has decided to become a part of Indian Super League. India has one of the huge markets in the world. We began interacting with people from Kolkata," added Miguel Angel Gil Marin

Ganguly, whose love for football is well known, will be the star attraction of the team that intends to bring in top international stars to encourage young talent in the city.

"It is the beginning of my association with some special people. Last year when I was trying to find out ways of how to become a part of this, I contacted Harsh to know whether or not he is interested. Slowly I began contacting the remaining. It has been a long journey not just for us but also for the game of football. Even I have grown up kicking the football. I am sure this is the same with many in the city of Kolkata," said Sourav Ganguly, co-owner of the Kolkata De Atletico.

Unveiling the names of the consortium as the Kolkata Games and Sports Private Limited, the five partners pledged to take Indian football to the next level.

Staying true to the aims and objectives of the League, the Kolkata Franchise wishes to hold a grasp over the 100-year experience of Madrid's sporting model of academics that will further enable them to recognize and empower talent from the very grassroots.

The Spanish club officials, who arrived in the city on Tuesday had inspected the Salt Lake stadium and the Barasat stadium.