Paes is now football ambassador

Former India Davis Cup captain Leander Paes will be present in his official capacity as brand ambassador of Indian football as the I-League kicks off in Kolkata today.


Leander Paes

MiD DAY reported last month that the five-time Olympian was keen on serving Indian football. And yesterday, the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) confirmed that he will officially be announced as Indian football's brand ambassador during the I-League opening ceremony at Salt Lake Stadium here.

"Soon after we learnt of Leander's intentions to serve Indian football, our president (Praful Patel) immediately gave us the green signal. We then had a dialogue with Leander and decided to appoint him as brand ambassador. An official announcement will be made tomorrow. Leander is very excited. Our secretary (Kushal Das) will discuss the future plans for Indian football with him," AIFFu00a0 vice-president Subrata Dutta told MiD DAY here yesterday.

Before Paes, Bollywood star Salman Khan was the brand ambassador. "But Mr Khan was able to attend just one match ufffd the Nehru Cup final in Delhi. He was too busy and couldn't give time to football," said Dutta.