In early 2014 it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG-Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of nine selected cities for the upcoming Indian Super League, an eight-team franchise league modeled along the lines of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.

[3] On 13 April 2014, it was announced that Sourav Ganguly, Harshavardhan Neotia, Sanjiv Goenka, Utsav Parekh, and Spanish La Liga side Atlético Madrid had won the bidding for the Kolkata franchise.

[7] Then, five days later, on 8 July 2014 it was confirmed that former Liverpool midfielder, Luis García, as their marquee for the 2014 season as well as the signing of Botswana international Ofentse Nato.

Atlético de Kolkata then began the month of August by signing Ethiopia international Fikru Teferra.

[11] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.