The start of India's football season amid the COVID-19 pandemic has the country's cricket boss Sourav Ganguly excited as he believes a smooth ISL would go a long way in driving away the "fear" of conducting big events across the nation. Ganguly, who co-owns ATK Mohun Bagan football club, on Thursday hoped that the success of the Indian Super League (ISL) in a bio-bubble in Goa will inspire other sports.

Speaking exclusively on the Hero Indian Super League’s Instagram Live session ahead of the Hero ISL Season 7 tournament opener, Sourav Ganguly talks about the return of the Hero ISL this year, "Cricket has just finished, now it’s time for more sports, time for football. I have always been very connected with the ISL. I have enjoyed it because born in Calcutta and from a very young age, I have seen football only. Cricket came later, so I have been attached with ATK and now ATK Mohun Bagan since the inception of the ISL. We have been champions 3 times, so the attachment is even more because when you play well and win, you get more attached to it, so looking forward to another great season starting in Goa from November 20th. The standards have really gone high in the last five years. When we became a part of the ISL in the first season, our main concern was that the game of football needs to go forward and develop and that’s happening exactly, and its expectation of another great and competitive season is here again."