Margao, Sep 29 (IANS): India Super League (ISL) franchise FC Goa on Tuesday appointed a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to manage its professional affairs in a comprehensive manner.

The franchise named as its CEO former footballer Sukhvinder Singh, who has worked extensively in Indian football circles. He has earlier worked for sports brand Nike, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and consultancy firm Libero Sports India, a statement said.

"After a long and detailed process, the club has appointed Sukhvinder Singh as the CEO," the statement said.

"The team had a good start last season and made it to the semi-finals in the first edition of the Hero Indian Super League. It is important that the club is developed further at all levels including the elite team, the youth, grassroots, marketing and media and most importantly fan development," the co-owners of the franchise, Dattaraj Salgaocar and Shriniwas Dempo said.

"We believe Sukhvinder Singh has the right understanding of the sport in India and would provide the club with a long-term strategy and a robust business plan. Goa has global ambitions and we wanted someone who has industry awareness at the global level. Sukkhi is an ideal fit and we would like to officially welcome him to the FC Goa family."

Sukhvinder Singh expressed his excitement about the project.

"I want to build the off-pitch team that is critical to the success of the on-pitch team which results in development of the club as a whole. The brand of ‘Goa’ is global and FC Goa shall try to leverage the identity, football culture and passion of the region to create a strong community driven movement that shall capture the imagination of football enthusiasts not only in India but also at global level," he said.