Premier Futsal is set to begin on July 15 in India and will last until July 24, 2016. It is the first ever multi-national Futsal league which was announced in Mumbai last month. It was founded by Indian entrepreneurs Abhinandan Balasubramanian, Dinesh Raj and Nithyashree Subban, with the backing of renowned business tycoon Xavier Britto and his wife Vimala Britto, a philanthropist. Luis Figo, former Barcelona and Real Madrid player, is the President of the Premier Futsal with Indian batting sensation Virat Kohli is the brand ambassador.
Futsal is the shorter variant of football. Two 5-a-side teams compete against each other with each half lasting 20 mins. It has gained popularity all over the world and is now coming to India, bringing Futsal players from all over the world together, in another effort to raise the standard of Indian football. Premier Futsal will have 8 Indian cities competing against each other for the coveted title of the 'First ever Champions Of Premier Futsal'. These teams will represent Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Cochin and Goa. The teams will be divided into two groups of 4, with each team facing the other 3 teams in their respective groups. The top 2 teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals will play in the first ever final of the Premier Futsal.
Each franchise will have a squad of 7 International Futsallers, 5 Indian Futsallers and one International marquee player. The actual 5 should contain 3 International Futsallers, One Indian Futsaller and the International marquee player. In order to find the 40 best Futsalllers in India, Brand Ambassador Virat Kohli launched a nationwide talent search along with "The Pele of Futsal", Brazilian Alessandro Rosa Vieira popularly known as Falcao, who is considered to be the Best Futsal player ever. Falcao has won the best Futsal Player Award 4 times and has represented Brazil 201 times scoring 339 goals in the process.
Three marquee players have already been confirmed for the tournament. Luis Figo's Portuguese team-mate Deco was the first marquee player to be announced. Deco has played for European giants Porto, Barcelona and Chelsea in an illustrious career spanning 17 years. Paul Scholes, the Manchester United legend, has also signed a three-year deal with Premier Futsal. The midfield maestro who won 25 trophies at his stay at Old Trafford comes with high hopes with the event in its quest to promote football in India. The third marquee player confirmed is the Real Madrid 'Galactico', Spaniard Michel Salgado who won the UEFA Champions League twice with the Madrid club during his stay at the Bernabeau.
A host of International Futsallers will be joining the competition, along with Adriano Foglia, the 5-time UEFA Golden Shoe winner and Dovenir Domingues Neto, voted the Best Player in the last Futsal World Cup. Several Futsallers from Argentina, Brazil, Iran, Russia and Spain have been confirmed.
This event hopes to promote Indian football and take it to the highest level internationally. The event with a full roster of celebrity footballers and futsallers will surely be one to watch out for in the coming days. The event will be broadcast on Sony Six, Sony AATH and Sony ESPN.
