Premier Futsal League, the shorter version of football kicks off today, 15^th July at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai. The first edition of world’s first multi-national Futsal tournament will divide six franchises into two groups. The league will continue for ten days and the final will be held after 15 matches on 24^th July in Goa.

The president of the league is Portuguese football legend Luis Figo and the ambassador of Futsal is Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli. Futsal Association of India (FAI), a body which is affiliated to the world body Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF) will govern this tournament.

The six teams of the tournament are Chennai 5s, Bengaluru 5s, Kolkata 5s, Mumbai 5s, Kochi 5s and Goa 5s. The duration of the game is 40 minutes each with 4 quarters of 10 minutes each.

In Group A- Chennai, Mumbai and Kochi

In Group B- Goa, Kolkata and Bengaluru

Football legends like Brazil player Ronaldinho, Welsh footballer Ryan Giggs and Argentina player Hernan Crespo has joined the league. Earlier, other legends, former Real Madrid player Michel Salgado, Brazilian Futsal player Falcao and Manchester United player Paul Scholes had signed the league.

Premier Futsal Co-Founder Nithyashree Subban said, “Amidst all the false allegations and attempts to tarnish the image of Premier Futsal, we are proud to kick-start our inaugural edition as scheduled on 15 July here in Chennai. It was a strategic decision to host the league in just two cities; Chennai and Goa, and with six franchises.” He also added, “We have managed to secure signatures of players who are the legends of the game and will be seen playing in India in a few days. As Premier Futsal Management, we are committed to grow Futsal here in India and we will expand the league to other cities in the future editions.”

Ronaldinho who started his career playing Futsal, he told the reporters, “I started my career playing Futsal. Whatever I am today is because of Futsal. So I am glad that this tournament has given me the chance to return to my roots.” He said it will be great if he can help Indian football, “After all these years, it will be a unique experience to be playing against the best futsallers and my friends, with whom I have played against in the past. I am delighted to back in playing capacity this time and it will be great if I can help Indian football in some way.”

This is the first appearance for the Welsh legend Ryan Giggs, “A lot has been spoken about the importance of Futsal and how it helps the players become better. I would love to see how I fare amongst the best in the tournament.”

The anthem of Futsal league titled ‘Naam Hai Futsal’ sung by musical maestro A R Rahman and also Virat Kohli lend his voice for the Premier Futsal League’s official anthem.

What is Futsal?

Futsal, the word came from Spanish futbol sala or futbol de salon meant ‘room football’.

Futsal is a miniature version of football which plays on a smaller field compared to football. It is actually an indoor game. It can be considered a five-a-side version of football.

It is played between two teams of five players; one of them is the goal keeper. This is played on a flat surface and with a smaller ball with less bounce due to the surface of the field.

Futsal Premier League Teams

Source: DNA

Chennai 5s

Owner- The Hindu

Team Coach- Ney Pereira

Bengaluru 5s

Owner- Puneeth Rajkumar, singer/actor

Team Coach- Juan Jose Bernal Cierre

Kolkata 5s

Owner- Grassroot Entertainment Pvt Ltd

Team Coach- Christian Roldan

Goa 5s

Owner- Viiking Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd

Team Coach- Octavio Gomes De Oliveira Junior

Mumbai 5s

Owner- DC Design

Team Coach- Felice Mastropierro

Kochi 5s

Owner: ES Entertainment

Team coach: Sergio Sapo

Premier Futsal League 2016 Schedule

Source: NDTV

 Premier Futsal League Official Anthem