Film, sports fraternity to play football for charity

New Delhi, March 16 (IANS) Popular names from the world of showbiz and sports are coming together to play football for charity.

Organised by Bunty Walia's GS Worldwide Entertainment, the match will be played March 30 between the All Stars Football Club (ASFC), which will feature celebrities from the film and television world, and All Heart Team, which has a host of Indian cricketers.

While the ASFC will be captained by Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, a soccer fan, the All Heart Team will have Virat Kohli taking the captain's spot.

"ASFC is fun. It will not only popularise the game but also helps raise funds for a noble cause. It's a very noble gesture and I'm looking forward to playing," Abhishek said in a statement.

Ranbir Kapoor, who too will be seen on the field, said: "I'm fortunate to be one of the founders of the club. Bunty Walia from GS Entertainment came with this brilliant idea and all the profits go to the charity organisations and I think it's a great cause."

The event is primarily aimed to raise funds for NGO Magic Bus, which works for the welfare of underprivileged children.

Talking about the thought behind the event, Walia said: "When we all met we thought the ideal way of raising funds was through a sports platform and everyone loves football. This year we are looking forward to raise funds for Magic Bus. We all are very excited and working hard to make the campaign a success."

Ranbir, who has promoted football as a sport time and again, is so upbeat that he has been practicing for the match since the last seven months.

"We are practicing every Sunday since last six to seven months. We are trying very hard. We come from a different industry and when we play football, we need a lot of stamina and practice. Its a team sport and we are getting there," said Ranbir.

The other members of the AFSC team include Varun Dhawan, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Raj Kundra, Arjun Kapoor, Amit Sadh and Shabbir Ahluwalia. Among the All Heart Team are names like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja.