Mithun Chakraborty ventures into soccer

The Bollywood actor's Indian Cricket League (ICL) team Royal Bengal Tigers has signed a five-year sponsorship agreement with Kolkata's first division soccer club Howrah Union.

Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty's Indian Cricket League (ICL) team Royal Bengal Tigers Wednesday signed a five-year sponsorship agreement with Kolkata's first division soccer club Howrah Union.

HT Image

As part of the deal, Royal Bengal Tigers would provide support to Howrah Union for infrastructure building, player recruitment and also training facilities.

The Royal Bengal Sports was formed as a separate company Wednesday for the venture.

Mithun said: "The tie-up is aimed at harnessing Bengal's local sporting talent. I could have adopted some leading club, but I did not do it as I wanted to build a team from scratch and carry it to a glorious high."

The association begins from the 2009-10 football season.

Mithun said he would travel to Mexico and Portugal for recruiting foreign players for Howrah Union.

Club sources said Mithun's Royal Bengal Sports would provide Rs.3.6 million per year to Howrah Union.