Tendulkar, Ganguly bag football franchises

Months after ending his 24-year international career, Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has made a foray into Indian football, winning the bid to own the Kochi-based franchise of the Indian Super League. Tendulkar won the bid along with Prasad V Potluri of PVP Ventures.

Tendulkar wasn't the only high-profile Indian cricketer to bag a franchise. Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain and a football fan himself, won the bid to own the Kolkata franchise, along with a consortium including Spanish League giants Atletico Madrid and businessmen Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjeev Goenka and Utsav Parekh.

"I will always remain a sportsman at heart who is keen to positively impact the sporting fabric of the nation. The Indian Super League presents a great opportunity to develop a platform for the youngsters to learn and enhance their talent to develop into outstanding player," Tendulkar said in a statement. "Based on the various insights shared by the team, the opportunity of the Kochi club seemed like a compelling and challenging proposition. With the Kochi club, we will strive to 'score our goals' and play a part in developing the game of football across the country."

The Indian Super League, an eight-team event run by IMG-Reliance, is expected to begin its inaugural season this September and end in November. Reliance also owns Mumbai Indians, the most expensive IPL franchise.