'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
Jamshedpur FC will be making their ISL debut against North-East United FC this Saturday. With big names such as Subrata Pal, Anas Edathodika and Sameehg Doutie, they are surely one of the title contenders. But the club management is planning bigger things yet, for the Tata Group-owned franchise. The officials of the club are in talks with major La Liga clubs for a tie-up.
In case you didn't know
Until the last year, the ISL was an eight-team affair and was played for two and half months. This year, Bengaluru FC along with Jamshedpur FC made their way into the glamorous league. The upcoming ISL will be the biggest ISL season ever, spanning for more than five months.
The heart of the matter
The Jharkhand-based club is in talks with several Spanish clubs for a mutual tie-up. They have made contact with one of Champions League winners from Spain, a source in the know of things revealed to Sportskeeda.
Previously, ATK had a tie-up with Spanish giants Atletico Madrid for the first three years of the ISL, though ATK are the most successful team in the ISL winning two titles, yet the tie-up with the European club was short-lived, as they parted ways after the 2016 season.
What's next?
A tie-up with a major club will definitely be of great help to the ISL outfit. As seen before, the Kolkata outfit got a huge help from the Atletico, and even trained at their Ángeles de San Rafael training centre. Not only that, the whole team was presented at their club ground during a match, after they won the inaugural season of the ISL. They even played against third and fourth division Spanish teams during pre-season, which helped them even more.
Author's take
The Indian Super League is now a renowned league, and its standards are increasing day by day. Players from major football nations are willing to play on Indian soil. If the tie-up becomes a reality, it will be good not only for the team but also for the sake of the league. It will raise the quality of football and competitiveness in Indian football.
