ATK (football club)
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| Full name | ATK |
|---|---|
| Short name | ATK |
| Founded | 7 May 2014 |
| Ground | Salt Lake Stadium |
| Capacity | 85,000 |
| Owner | Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. |
| Manager | Teddy Sheringham |
| League | Indian Super League |
| 2016 | Regular season: 4th Finals: Champions |
| Website | Club website |
ATK (Previously known as Atlético de Kolkata), is an Indian Super League football franchise based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It was established on 7 May 2014 as the first team in the league, and plays its home games at the Salt Lake Stadium.
The team is owned by Kolkata Games and Sports Pvt. Ltd. which consists of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, alongside businessmen Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka and Utsav Parekh. Initially for first three seasons Spanish La Liga club Atlético Madrid were also a co-owner, later Goenka bought the shares owned by Atlético Madrid. After the end of their partnership with Spanish giant, Atletico de Kolkata has been rechristened to ATK. The team's name and colours are derived from their former Spanish partner.
Under coach Antonio López Habas, Atlético were the hosts and winners of the first match of the Indian Super League. They won the inaugural season, defeating Kerala Blasters 1–0 in the final, and in 2016 edition under José Francisco Molina kolkata won on penalties against the same opponent in the final
In March 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of nine selected cities for the upcoming Indian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. On 13 April 2014, it was announced that Sourav Ganguly, Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, Utsav Parekh, and Spanish La Liga side Atletico Madrid had won the bid for the Kolkata franchise. It turned out to be the most expensive franchise, being purchased for 18 crore (around US$3 million). On 7 May 2014, the team was officially launched as Atlético de Kolkata.
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