Former Team India captain Sourav Ganguly is all set to lock horns with 1986 Fifa World Cup holder Diego Maradona in a charity match called ‘Match for Unity’ which is scheduled to be played on October 2 in Barasat, Kolkata.
Barring the southpaw, many other well-known faces from different circuits will also take part in the match. The names which have already confirmed their participation in the contest are former Indian hockey skipper Dhnaraj Pillay, Tollywood actor Abir Chatterjee, Bengal cricketers Manoj Tiwary and Deep Dasgupta.
The exhibition match will be hosted by the Aditya School of Sports in Barasat and is expected to witness a huge crowd. Meanwhile, Maradona is expected to be in the city from October 2 to October 4. Some of the Indian football stars will also get an opportunity to rub shoulder with the Argentine legend.
Mohun Bagan’s Sony Norde and the former greats from the club, Chima Okorie, Jose Ramirez Barreto and Odafa Okolie is also expected to take the field with Maradona.
“The non-football stars will be introduced one by one after the first 30 minutes maybe. We want serious football to be played in the first half hour. The idea is to give everyone a chance to rub shoulders with Maradona,” Satadru Dutta, a partner in the firm promoting Maradona’s trip was quoted as saying by the IANS.
Former Indian footballer Prasun Banerjee, Carlton Chapman and Dipendu Biswas will also be seen in action after confirming their availability. It is learnt that the organisers have requested the former Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia to take part in the match but haven’t received a response from him yet.
Meanwhile, Maradona said that it was an honour for him to be able to make the trip to Kolkata for the 2nd time, as Kolkata is a very special place to him.
“It is such an honour for me to be able to make this trip. Kolkata is a very special place and I have good memories from my trip there many years ago, the fans were fantastic,” Maradona said.
“India is a very passionate football nation, and I look forward to meeting a whole new generation of fans while continuing to spread the overwhelming love that I have for this beautiful game,” the legend signed off.