The football fever is on

Football fever has gripped the city. With the first match of this edition of the Hero Indian Super League between Bengaluru Football Club (BFC) and Mumbai Football Club, slated to be held at Kanteerava Stadium on November 19, football fans are making a beeline for the tickets, both at the stadium counter and online. The excitement has almost doubled because this is the first time that BFC has been added into the League. The fan base for both the teams is strong in the city. Avinash Reddy, the CEO of Pavithra Enterprises, says that he can't wait to catch the match over the weekend.

"I am a hard-core fan of BFC and it is double excitement because this is the first time that BFC is in the League. It is also going to be a pretty intense match because BFC has emerged strong over the last couple of years and they have been on a winning spree," says Avinash.

The student community in the city form a large chunk of the BFC fan base. Adithya Sanketh,
who has just completed his engineering, says "Every player in BFC has strong points that have helped them win almost all the matches so far. There were several hair-raising moments during the earlier matches, and I am hoping to see a replay of those moments once again" says Adithya.

Those who play football on a regular basis connect with the sport at a different level. Bhargavram Paluri, a student and an amateur football player, says that he always buys tickets to the West Block Stand in Kanteerava Stadium.  "This is by far the loudest and most liveliest stand in the stadium. There is never a dull moment there when we are watching the match because it has the true blue BFC fans," says Bhargavram.

He is also looking forward to two of the strongest teams in the League battle it out. "Both teams have excellent strategies and have stronger players. It will be a good display of strength," he adds.

Football, as a sport is slowly picking up in the city, says Vaibhav Kale, an IT professional. "There are so many play arenas in the city that have football as one of the options. My friends and I play football on the streets and in play arenas. Such is our craze for the sport," says Vaibhav. He adds that he and his friends are all set to watch the match live over the weekend.