Asian Premier Futsal Championship
 | This article contains promotional content. (July 2016) |
| Founded | 5 April 2016 |
|---|---|
| Country |  India |
| Confederation | FAI |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Current champions | Mumbai 5s (1 title) |
| Most championships | Mumbai 5s (1 title) |
| TV partners | Sony SIX Sony ESPN Sony Aath |
| Website | premierfutsal |
| Current: 2016 Premier Futsal | |
Premier Futsal is a multi-national Futsal league conceptualised by Indian entrepreneurs under the entity Premier Futsal Management Pvt. Ltd. It was founded by Indian entrepreneurs Abhinandan Balasubramanian, Dinesh Raj and Nithyashree Subban, backed by business magnate Xavier Britto and his wife, philanthropist Vimala Britto. The Premier Futsal anthem "Naam Hai Futsal" had its tunes set by two-time Academy Award winner A.R.Rahman.
Futsal, a 5-a-side shorter variant of football with two halves of 20 minutes each, is governed by Futsal Association of India (FAI) with accreditation from the international governing body, Asociación Mundial de Futsal (AMF).[1][2]
The Game
This franchise-based league takes place across Chennai and Goa in India from July 15 to July 24, 2016.
Each playing team consists of three international Futsal players, one international marquee football player and one Indian Futsal player. Every squad is allowed a maximum of twelve players.
Premier Futsal, in association with FAI, conducted a talent hunt programme across eight cities called Launchpad to scout and select Indian players. The programme combed through 2500 participants per city to shortlist five regional players for each team.[3] Mumbai 5's won the inaugural Premier Futsal by defeating Kochi 5's in the penalty shootout.
Management Team
- Luís Figo – Former footballer/futsal player & President of Premier Futsal[3]
- Abhinandan Balasubramanian – Who is the Founder of AltFlo & ChefHost[4]
- Xavier Britto – Who is the Chairman and investor of Premier Futsal is also the Founder & Chairman, Esthell Group[5] & Indev Logistics[6]
- Balu Nayar – Co-Founder of NextGen Telesolutions Pvt Ltd, Managing Director and Head of Morpheus Team at Morpheus Capital Advisors & IMG India, & Regional Director for Yahoo’s Connected Life businesses[7]
Brand Ambassadors
Indian cricket team batsman Virat Kohli has joined the Premier Futsal football league as its brand ambassador.[8]
Apart from Virat Kohli, Premier Futsal attracted a lot of fans when they signed the best futsal player in the world- Alessandro Rosa Vieira, popularly known as Falcão.[9]
On 12 May 2016, Virat Kohli along with Falcão facilitated the launch of the nationwide talent hunt to select 40 players who will represent their respective cities in the first season of Premier Futsal.[10]
Teams
| Team | City | Owner | Marquee | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kolkata 5s | Kolkata, West Bengal | Grassroot Entertainment Pvt. Ltd |  Hernán Crespo
|
Christian Roldan |
| Chennai 5s | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | The Hindu |  Falcão
|
Falcão |
| Bengaluru 5s | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Puneeth Rajkumar |  Paul Scholes
|
Juan Jose Bernal Cierre |
| Goa 5s | Mapusa, Goa | Viiking Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd | Cafu
|
Octavio Gomes De Oliveira Junior |
| Kochi 5s | Kochi, Kerala | ES Entertainment |  Míchel Salgado
|
Sergio Sapo |
| Mumbai 5s | Mumbai, Maharashtra | DC Design |  Ryan Giggs
|
Ney Pereira |
Telecast
Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd. acquired exclusive rights to broadcast Premier Futsal. As part of the agreement, all Premier Futsal matches will be televised live on Sony SIX, Sony ESPN and Sony Aath. Matches will also be available to live stream on Sony LIV.[11]
See also
External links
References
- ^ "World body throws weight behind Premier Futsal". Business Sandard. 7 April 2016.
- ^ "Football with Futsal: Three Organisations Claim Right Over Half a Sport". New Indian Express. 10 April 2016.
- ^ a b "Football's T20 moment". Financial Express. 17 April 2016.
- ^ "ChefHost brings bespoke professional cuisine to your dinner party". Venture Burn. 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Esthell Group Launches Rs 50-crore Esthell Village Resort at Thirukazhukundram". Businesswire India. 23 September 2010.
- ^ "Indev Logistics to launch coastal shipping services". Hindu Business Line. 18 July 2013.
- ^ "Company Overview of NextGen Telesolutions Pvt Ltd". Bloomberg.
- ^ "Virat Kohli joins Premier Futsal football league as brand ambassador". The Indian Express. 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Pelé of futsal in India: Premier Futsal signs Brazilian star Falcao for inaugural season". Hindustan Times. 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Virat Kohli launches Premier Futsal League's nationwide talent hunt". Hindustan Times. 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Sony Pictures to broadcast Premier Futsal matches live". Business Line. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.