Mumbai: India’s Test captain Virat Kohli is in a spot of bother, though not for any on-field activities, for an off-the-field one. Kohli endorsing the Premier Futsal as its brand ambassador seems to have not gone down well with the organisers of the Indian Super League (ISL) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
According to sources in the AIFF, Kohli, who is the co-owner of Goa FC which plays the ISL, is contracted with the league organisers to not endorse any other football tournament or league in India.
The particular clause in the contract says, the club owners, players and associates will have to seek permission to the ISL for endorsing any other league or tournament staged in India, which the star India batsman is learnt to have violated.
Interestingly, the Governing Council of the ISL categorically informed the clubs and associates last week to not get involved in any activities of the Futsal as it’s neither endorsed by AIFF nor by the world governing body FIFA.
But the development seemed to have had no effect on the Futsal organisers and they sounded confident of retaining Kohli as its ambassador. Kohli though have refrained from making any comment on the matter and kept the world guessing.
However, AIFF president and former Union minister Praful Patel has made it clear that any involvement of ISL franchises, owners and players in the Futsal event would be dealt with strictly. “Any brand Ambassador of an ISL franchise cannot do the same for a league not recognised by #AIFF or #FIFA,” Patel tweeted.