Real Madrid and Portugal legend Luis Figo on Tuesday announced Premier Futsal, a first-ever multi-national Futsal league conceptualized by Indian entrepreneurs under the entity Premier Futsal Management Pvt. Ltd.
Futsal, a five-a-side shorter variant of Soccer with two halves of 20 minutes each, is governed by Futsal Association of India (FAI) with accreditation from the international governing body, Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF).
The franchise-based league will be played across eight cities in India from July 15th to July 24th 2016 and is set revolutionize how the sport is played and consumed globally.
Premier Futsal, will bring together 56 of the best current Futsal players from across the world in a competitive format. The pioneering model will see each playing team mandatorily comprise of three international Futsal players, one international marquee soccer player and one Indian Futsal player. Each squad size will be of twelve players.
Premier Futsal, in association with FAI, will launch a talent hunt program across eight cities to scout and select Indian players. The program will comb through 2500 participants per city, to shortlist five regional players for each team.
"Premier Futsal is set to take the sport of Futsal to the next level internationally. Back in Portugal, I have played Futsal extensively growing up which instilled quick thinking, skills and close control. In the last two decades, the sport has established its identity and with Premier Futsal, we hope to further propagate the sport in its individual capacity," said Figo, the President of Premier Futsal.
Premier Futsal was officially launched and colors were unveiling through a press conference in Mumbai today in the presence of Premier Futsal Management Pvt Ltd team - Luis Figo, Xavier Britto, Dinesh Raj, Abhinandan Balasubramanian, Nithyashree Subban and Balu Nayar.