The legendary Pele and Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning captain Cafu are unlikely to make the proposed trip to India for the Super Soccer event at the Salt Lake stadium on January 23.
According to sources close to the Brazilian greats, neither has any plan to visit Kolkata this month, leaving many to question whether the event will materialise at all. JPR Events, organisers of the event, had claimed that Pele would be in Kolkata as ambassador of the world stars outfit, of which Cafu was named as captain.
When contacted, JPR Events CEO Sunil Hamal - who chaired the January 6 press conference to announce the Super Soccer match between Superstars XI and a Baichung Bhutia-led Indian XI - refused to make any comment and, instead, sought "24 hours" time to clear doubts over the proposed match and the star cast.
It has been learnt that Sport 10, which owns commercial rights to Pele's image and intellectual property worldwide, was taken aback by the report of the legend being associated with the Kolkata match. Sport 10, through its US counsel Arent Fox, has reportedly sent a 'Cease and Desist' letter to JPR Events requesting that it immediately cease all unauthorized use of his name or image with the exhibition match.
"Marcos Evangelista de Moraes (better known as Cafu) is hundred per cent not going to India," said somebody close to the player.
French star and Arsenal legend Robert Peres will be another absentee from the list announced by the organisers.
The exhibition match - which, according to JPR Events, is part of the world stars outfit's marathon tour of 20 countries - is supposed to be held as a fund-raiser for the Football Players' Association of India, of which Baichung is the president.
