Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran and his wife Supriya have acquired stakes in Kochi Pipers FC, a football team in the Super League Kerala (SLK). Kochi Pipers FC is one of the six teams competing in the League, whose inaugural edition kicks off towards the end of August this year.

Tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi and his actress wife, Lara Dutta, are the other owners of the club. By acquiring Kochi Pipers FC, according to a press statement issued from the office of Sukumaran, he and his wife aim to provide a platform for budding football talents in the region, creating opportunities for players to shine.

Reacting to the news, Mathew Joseph, CEO of Super League Kerala, said the actor's involvement will create a unique blend of entertainment and sports in Kerala. The League, incidentally, is the brainchild of the Kerala Football Association and is being put together by Scoreline Sports.

Sukumaran, meanwhile, is busy at work with his upcoming directorial venture, 'L2: Empuraan', the first of the two planned sequels to the critically acclaimed 2019 film 'Lucifer', which was the first Malayalam film to gross more than Rs 200 crore in the history of the industry.