6) Bullring Matadors
The Matadors were one of the first teams to come on board with the concept of the FFL. Their owner Nikhil, who has been a part of a number of successful business ventures is extremely excited about the FFL. ”It is extremely exciting. I love sport. Something like this is there in every footballing nation in the world. Initiatives like this will do something for football here in India for sure,” he gushed.
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The Matadors are one of the few teams to have finalised their squads but Nikhil feels that there is still work to be done. “The team’s frozen. We have got a great team and trying to introduce new concepts to them,” he said.
“They are great players but everybody can learn. The idea is to introduce new concepts.”
7) Al-Fateh FC
Probably the best club in the league, Al-Fateh FC have a number of star players. The side is captained by Zaib who played in the Premier Futsal League for Bangalore earlier this year.
The owner of Al-Fateh felt that the FFL was a great initiative and stated that his team plans to go out and have fun. “First of all, it is a great event and initiative. Coming into franchise mode is itself next level for everyone,” he said.
“We made the team 6 years back. I was 25,” he added. ” We made a team and played at XLR8. Thanks to them we have a great team and captain Zaib. Alfateh is Arabic for victory and I'm sure all of the teams are tough and we’ll have to be at our best. Let’s compete and have fun.”
Al-Fateh will play their home games at Active Arena.
8) Friends United
Probably the dark horses of this year’s campaign, Friends United, like Aura, are an amateur club who created waves by winning a number of tournaments over the past few months.
With players like Chelston, Shiv and Kishore, they boast a star-studded lineup and have just one goal in mind, victory.
“We started playing together a couple of years back. As the name suggests we are all friends and we formed the club,” Chelston stated. “Coming to the tournament we are here to have fun . Most of the teams are known. We have played with as well as against them on a number of occasions.”
Chelston also felt that despite their friendships off the pitch, each and every player on their team would push that aside once they enter the playing field and would play hard and play to win.
Friends United will use Astro Arena as a fortress for their home games.
9) Hot Fut South United
A rather interesting choice of name, Hot Fut South United came together as a collaboration between Hot Fut, one of the leading football infrastructure companies in India and second division I-League side South United.
One of the later entries to the league, Hot Fut trials are still pending and the club is open to new entries.
Hot Fut will play their home games at Hotfut in Sarjapur Road and will be holding trials next week.
10) West Block FC
Last but not least is West Block FC, a fan club of Bengaluru FC.
West Block is a team without an owner and the club is completely controlled by the fans. Designated spokesperson for the night Rakesh said, ”We don't have an owner. We are the fans. All West Block, All BFC.”
“We had a trial last Sunday. 289 people showed. These are all people who come cheer with us. We might be the least experienced side in the league but knowing West Block we will put up a fight. “ he went on to add
Regarding possible safety issues for West Block matches, he said jokingly, “As long as you're not from Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, you will be pretty safe.”
The FFL is set to commence on 17 September and will be streamed live on Facebook.
