The Indian Super League (ISL) on Tuesday got a dash of South American flavour with Colombian defenders Jairo Suarez and Andres Gonzalez confirming their participation in the inaugural edition of the franchise-based football tournament.

The Hero ISL announced the first set of two international players’ participation, confirming the services of Suarez and Gonzalez. Colombia is ranked No.4 in the latest FIFA ranking.

Suarez and Gonzalez, along with 47 other international footballers, will make up for the required quota of 49 players in the central international player draft pool. ISL international player draft is scheduled for August 21.

Both Jairo Suarez and Gonzalez are thrilled to participate in and support the growth of football in India. “It’s an honour to represent Colombian football in a country as important as India. It is a great responsibility and I hope to entertain the fans with my performance,” said 29-year-old Suarez, who plays as right back for Colombia’s historic team Santa Fe (Categoria Primera A).

Gonzalez, the 30-year-old centre back who has plied his trade for the Colombian national team said, “I am happy to be part of the new Indian Super League. I see the league heading in right direction, engaging millions of Indian fans and drive improvement in the playing standards. I look forward to sharing space with the legends of the game and share my experience with the youngsters in India.”

ISL, promoted by IMG-Reliance and Star India and supported by All India Football Federation (AIFF), will feature eight clubs competing for top honours. Four clubs, Delhi Dynamos FC (Mads Junker & Mortsn Skoubo), FC Pune City (Emanuele Belardi & Bruno Cirillo), NorthEast United FC (Isaac Chansa & Cornell Glen) and Atletico de Kolkata (Borja Fernandez) have exercised their opportunity to sign maximum two international players on their own.

The league will bring in the rest of required 49 players to the central international draft pool.

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