Lulu Group mulling foray into football arena

Kochi, Sep 29 (IANS) Ahead of the golden jubilee celebrations of Kerala’s first title win of the coveted Santosh Trophy, multibillionaire M.K.Yusuf Ali, who heads the Lulu Group, is reportedly mulling foray into the football arena.

Ali has already been invited by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to be the newest investor of the iconic Mohammedan Sporting Football Club.

Sources in the know of things say that Ali is keen to own a club in Kerala, from where he hails and where soccer is a part of life of the average common man.

Yesteryear footballers in Kerala are hoping against hope that Ali will enter the soccer field and expect him to kick-start the process with a day-long event marking the golden jubilee celebrations winning of the coveted trophy way back in 1973.

In a thriller, Kerala the underdogs, had surprised Railways by winning 3-2 then.

A programme is being held later this year when all the team members and the support staff of that team to the Maharaja’s College ground where they played and brought laurels to the state will be assembled by the group of football buffs who feel that this is one way to pay back to those who propelled Kerala and a new generation of footballers to the game.