This is an appreciation piece for John Abraham. I personally don’t know John. Haven’t met him either. Having said that, I am aware of the contributions he has made and keeps making. A source tells me John has spent 150 plus crores in Indian football already and has done everything possible to keep North East United flying. Back-to-back Durand Champions, it is a testimony to the effort put in by the management as well.
A strong club needs strong ownership. See the turnaround at MBSG with Sanjiv Goenka investing serious monies into the club. Emami spending money will help East Bengal. At North East, it is John. He isn’t an industrial magnate like Parth Jindal is at Bengaluru FC. Parth, who is excellent for Indian sport, comes from an industry family and has the JSW support behind him. Goenka is one of India’s best-known billionaires. John isn’t an industrialist and nor does he have the backing of corporate empires behind him. And yet his support for Indian football has been unwavering. To keep North East United going isn’t easy. ROI in relation to investing in Indian football is always in the red and that’s where it boils down to individual passion.
A charismatic owner always helps a sport. Shahrukh Khan as the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders made a real difference at the start of the IPL. They have their own fan followings and help bring them to the stands. And in doing so, inspire players as well. Just yesterday, Rinku Singh spoke very fondly of Shahrukh to my colleague, Rohit Juglan, in a Revsportz interview. The very same can be said of John. If you have seen visuals of him at the Salt Lake stadium at the end of the game yesterday, you would have known that it was a very important moment for him. It was of vindication and satisfaction. Reward for the effort he has put in. His players have done it for him for they know he is always going to have their back. John is good for the sport and we need more like him.
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