Telugu actors Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Allu Arjun and industrialist Aravind Prasad have joined cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as the new co-owners of the Kerala Blasters, the Kochi-based franchise of the Indian Super League (ISL).

Sachin introduced the new co-owners except Allu Arjun to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the latter’s office this morning.

Football Academy

Speaking to newspersons, Sachin said he wanted to work with the new co-owners and make Kerala Blasters a vibrant franchise.

He and the co-owners have agreed to the state government request to set up a residential football academy to groom young football stars here.

“The interest levels among youngsters are very high in the state. We would like to get involved with more schools to catch them young,” Sachin said.

Kerala Blasters has set a target to churn out at least 100 young stars over the next few years. In order to realise its dream, it has sought the support and guidance of state government in their programmes in the state.

The Chief Minister has readily agreed with their request, Sachin said.

Ownership change

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that Kerala Blasters in association with the government has calked out a comprehensive programme for development of the game in the state.

The focus would be on identifying the budding stars at a young age and train them, he said.

At the start of the inaugural of the Indian Super League two years ago, Sachin had teamed up with Hyderabad-based PVP Ventures to acquire the Kerala franchise.

However, PVP Ventures landed into financial last year, preparing the ground for a change in ownership at Kerala Blasters.

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