Guwahati, Sept. 30: You host, you win. NorthEast United FC owner and actor John Abraham is not a superstitious man but is happy to build his hopes for his team on a "coincidence".
It goes this way: When Atletico de Kolkata hosted the opening match in the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL) in 2014, they took home the trophy.
Come the next edition, Chennaiyin FC hosted the opening ceremony and walked away with the honours.
Tomorrow, it is the turn of the Northeast, or more precisely Guwahati, to host the opening ceremony of the third edition of the Indian Super League.
"I am not a superstitious man but when it is a happy coincidence like this one, we all hope that our dreams...the dreams of all the fans of the Northeast, can come true this year," John said.
You host, you hope to win.
His team winning the trophy would do a world of good to football in the Northeast, which was described by ISL chairperson Nita Ambani as the "epicentre" and "bedrock" of the game in the country.
"The Northeast is the epicentre and bedrock of football and there are so many wonderful stories of this beautiful game that come from the region. We are very happy to be here," Nita, who arrived later in the day with John, said.
With just a day to go, northeasterners are buzzing with excitement to witness the glitzy celebration of the third edition of the ISL.
The gates of Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium will open at 3pm, allowing fans to arrive early to avoid rush hour traffic and grab their seats for the grand opening ceremony which will begin at 5.30pm.
Bollywood stars Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandez and Varun Dhawan arrived today along with the team owners of NorthEast United FC and Chennaiyin FC, John Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan.
On their maiden visit to Guwahati, Alia, Jacqueline and Varun, who will perform tomorrow, showed great enthusiasm at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.
While Alia had only two words to say, "Let's football", Varun said, "I'm very excited to be here in the Northeast. We are going to perform for the first time here."
The trio will take the stage to the theme song, Let's Football.
The opening ceremony will have a Northeast flavour with the renowned Shillong Chamber Choir, which has enthralled audiences across the globe, slated to perform. The scintillating ceremony will see over 500 artistes and drummers from the Northeast come together to put up a spectacular show.
Sachin Tendulkar, who owns the Kerala team, Mumbai City FC owner Ranbir Kapoor and Chennaiyin FC co-owner Mahendra Singh Dhoni are expected to arrive tomorrow.
Rio Olympics shuttler P.V. Sindhu will be the star attraction at the grand sports event.
After the 30-minute show, NorthEast United FC will take on Kerala Blasters in the opening match of the tournament.
You host. You slog. You win.
The field's open and tickets sold out.
Security
Adequate security arrangements have been made in and around the venue. City commissioner of police Hiren Nath said, "We have taken stringent security measures. The Sarusajai Sports Complex and a radius of 1km around it have been divided into 14 sectors."
The Assam Police Battalion, police commandoes, central paramilitary forces and woman police have been deployed to maintain strict vigilance on all fronts, Nath said.
The police have prohibited the public from carrying bags or edibles inside the stadium. Armed security personnel and personnel in civvies will be deployed in and around the venue to closely monitor the security arrangements.
