Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera, Puri MP Pinaki Mishra, State Chief Secretary Asit Tripathy, DSYS Secretary Vishal Dev, DSPL owner Dr Anil Sharma, former India football captains Sradhanjali Samantaray and Rajendra Prasad Singh were present at the agreement-signing programme.

According to Vineel Krishna, two Odia boys _ Shubham Sarangi and Ankit Bhuyan _ will be part of the Odisha FC, which would make its debut in the sixth season of the football league this year.

The agreement to launch Odisha FC, however, left a lot of questions unanswered as was the case in many more MoU signings earlier for promotion of sports in Odisha. The following is a summrey of information gathered in the subject by www.orisports.com

ODISHA GOVT DATA:
According to a DSYS press release, as part of the operations, Odisha FC, its first team, youth teams, youth football development program and grassroots football development program will be based in the state of Odisha.

The Government of Odisha will support the club to relocate to Bhubaneswar through provision of world-class infrastructure for the home matches of the team in the ISL and practice facilities, among other support needed by the club for smooth operations in the State.

The Government will also liaise with and support the club in its football development activities to further bolster the footballing landscape in the State of Odisha.

ABOUT DSPL, DELHI DYNAMOS FC:
According to DSPL owner, Dr Anil Sharma, Delhi Dynamos FC has decided to relocate its home base from the national capital to Bhubaneswar, Odisha after playing the ISL for five years from the iconic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.

“It hurts for me to move Delhi Dynamos FC away from the city of Delhi, but certain hard decisions had to be taken. I had a vision for the development of football in the country. And my vision has always made me strive for better. I feel the state of Odisha shares the same vision with me. As difficult as it was for me to take the call, I am immensely happy to say that the Government of Odisha is equally committed and determined to create an environment of sporting excellence in the state,” said Dr Sharma, who is also the president and founding CEO of GMS Leadership.

Delhi Dynamos FC (DDFC), founded in 2014, is the club of the capital city of India that plays in the Indian Super League (ISL). As the only ISL club in Northern India, Delhi Dynamos FC has a catchment area of over 300 million people. The team was owned by United States-based ship recycling company GMS Inc, which is owned by Dr Anil Sharma.

Dynamos made their second successive semi finals in the Indian Super League. The achievement of the club was a fourth-place finish in the ISL league stages under the tutelage of Roberto Carlos.

The club was earlier owned by DEN Networks, which signed a technical partnership with Dutch side Feyernoord. Football legend Alessandro Del Piero came on board as the marquee player for the club.

ABOUT FOOTBALL IN KALINGA STADIUM:
Odisha has been a preferred partner for professional Football Clubs and the All India Football Federation. In the past, the magnificent Kalinga Stadium has hosted a home game of Jamshedpur FC in the ISL, home games of the team Indian Arrows in the Hero I-league, two editions of the Hero Super Cup and India’s First 4 Nations International Senior Tournament – the Hero Gold Cup. Kalinga stadium also boasts to be the first venue to be provisionally cleared for the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup India 2020.
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TOP: Odisha Sports Director R Vineel Krishna and DSPL CEO Ashish Shah complete the agreement signing in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Bhubaneswar on 31 August, 2019.
RIGHT: DSPL owner Dr Anil Sharma greets Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik before the signing of the agreement in Bhubaneswar on 31 August, 2019.