Premier Futsal today claimed that it has got support from the Sports Ministry while promising a bigger and better second edition of the five-a-side franchise-based league later this year.
Headed by the legendary Luis Figo, the Premier Futsal think-tank today called on Sports Minister Vijay Goel. It said the sports minister has assured the venture full support, giving a huge fillip to the one-of-its-kind tournament.
President Figo was accompanied by Manchester United great Ryan Giggs and Alessandro Rosa Vieira, popularly known as Falcao and considered the greatest player of the sport.
"It's always a positive to get the support of the minister as he is the person who has an idea about sports in the country. He is the one who understands that sports should be promoted," the former Portuguese playmaker said after the launch of the league's second season here.
The founders of the league Dinesh Raj, Abhinandan Balasubramanian and Nithyashree Subban along with the investor Xavier Britto announced the commencement of the LaunchPad initiative and the plans for the season two and beyond.
Match days will be increased from 8 to 14, number of matches will go up from 15 to 27 and will held at three venues.
Figo, one of the key members of the famed Real Madrid Galacticos, said, "My association with Premier Futsal has been a special one. The 2016 edition of the tournament brought back memories of enjoying the sport back in the streets of my hometown in Portugal. Season 1 of Premier Futsal was a great experience as it allowed me to experience and view first hand, the potential India holds in this sport.
"We were able to unearth some very promising, young players who rose to the occasion when needed and contributed to quality of futsal played on court, a first-of-its-kind in the world. With season 2, we seek to be bigger and aim to reach out to a wider audience while potentially changing lives via LaunchPad, which is going to act as a great awareness campaign for the sport and promote community building through youth engagement."
Dinesh Raj, Managing Director, Premier Futsal, added "With our expansion plans to take Premier Futsal global to locations like China, Taiwan and Dubai, we are also in discussion with multiple institutional investors who are looking to fuel our growth.
"Private participation in the sports sector is going to supplement the exemplary work of our government and our Prime Minister's vision to make India a multi-discipline sports leader in the years to come.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
