A day after widespread chaos during the much-hyped event featuring Argentine football legend Lionel Messi at Kolkata’s Salt Lake stadium, the spotlight is on ‘Satadru Dutta Initiative’ run by the tour organiser.
The organiser, Satadru Dutta, is now behind bars for alleged mismanagement of the event for which fans and supporters paid between Rs 4,800 and a whopping Rs 25,000 for tickets.
Dutta, known to flaunt his connections to influential personalities, founded ‘Satadru Dutta Initiative’ that focuses on bringing international sports personalities to India and organising large-scale events. Under this banner, he planned Lionel Messi’s ‘G.O.A.T India Tour 2025’ with programmes scheduled across four major Indian cities – Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai,
and New Delhi.
Dutta has been associated with events involving football icons Pelé, Diego Maradona, Cafu, and Emiliano Martínez. But some of these programmes reportedly faced organisational issues and, in Kolkata, past events featuring Pelé, Maradona, and Ronaldinho, were marred by disorder with allegations of irregularities and complaints from spectators.
What happened at the Messi event, then, should not come as a surprise.
NETWORKER, SOURAV GANGULY FAN
People familiar with Satadru Dutta, who hails from Rishra in Hooghly district, said he has a background in finance and investment.
They said Dutta later moved into sports promotion and entrepreneurship, and is known for networking with connections in both sporting and political spheres. Those close to him described him as an admirer of former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, and he has previously been seen in London during one of his birthdays. He is also known to flaunt his photographs and videos with Ganguly, they added.
According to sources, he has often projected his proximity to influential personalities especially on social media. He is primarily known for organising events featuring sports celebrities and has claimed to have brought football legends such as Pelé and Maradona to Kolkata in the past, they said.
SEVERAL QUESTIONS REMAIN
All of this was overshadowed by what unfolded on Saturday afternoon (December 13) at the Salt Lake stadium.
The sources alleged that funds were collected from sponsors, and that access to photographs with visiting sports personalities was provided in exchange for money. A meet-and-greet programme in Kolkata was reportedly restricted to those who paid for access, they said.
Dutta’s arrest has now brought renewed scrutiny to the overall management of the event, which many say has caused embarrassment to Kolkata and India on an international level.
But, there are several questions yet to be answered mostly around security arrangements.
Here are a few:
- How were water bottles allowed inside the stadium when such items are usually prohibited?
- If bottles were not permitted, why were proper security checks not conducted?
- Why was there no stage or open vehicle arranged to ensure that Messi is visible from the stands?
- Who were the individuals surrounding Messi inside the stadium?
These questions are likely to be examined but the primary issue remains the alleged mismanagement by the ‘Satadru Dutta Initiative’, which has drawn widespread criticism.
