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What’s the story?
NorthEast United FC co-owner and renowned Bollywood actor John Abraham is looking to boost ties with Turkish football, in order to improve the level of the game of his Indian Super League (ISL) club, ahead of the upcoming ISL 2017 season.
In case you didn’t know…
John Abraham has already had a deep connect with Turkey, where he had spent two months, while shooting for a film, in the Antalya region of the country.
Interestingly, his club NorthEast United FC have now travelled to Antalya, Turkey, in order to carry out their pre-season training, ahead of the upcoming Indian Super League.
Although they are not giants of the game, Turkey have traditionally been one of the consistent countries in international football tournaments like the World Cups or the European Championships.
Turkish clubs like Galatasaray and Besiktas are also regulars in the popular UEFA Champions League, and are often considered to be fearsome opponents by the top clubs in Europe, especially when they are playing at home
Heart of the matter
Abraham met with Antalya Governor Munir Karaloglu during his stay with his club in Turkey, and discussed the possibilities of further ties with Turkish football, in the coming seasons.
“The league is very new… We are trying to do better. Hopefully Antalya is lucky for us and we do better this year,” Abraham said to Karaloglu. “You have a very good team. Also, football reaches out to 260 million people [in India].”
What’s next?
The Northeastern region of India is known for the massive interest that it shows in football. This is highlighted in the fact that NEUFC manage to draw large crowds to the stands, wherever they go to play.
However, for all the support that they have garnered, NEUFC have not had much to show for it. Their best finish in the ISL has been a fifth-placed finish last season, something that did not even earn them a berth in the semifinals.
With the new season coming up, they would be looking for all the help they could possibly get, in order to heave themselves out of this slumber, and finish in the top half of the ISL table, at least.
Author’s take:
Although the Northeastern states have contributed a lot of top quality players to Indian football, the clubs from these regions have not been as successful in the big leagues. That changed drastically, when Aizawl FC, against all the odds, won the I-League last season.
While such successes from the Northeastern clubs are yet to be manifested in the cash-rich ISL, NEUFC would certainly be looking to turn things around for themselves, after a good pre-season in Turkey. It would, indeed, be a great sight to see their fans go crazy, if they go on a good run in the ISL this season.
