The Premier Futsal League will see the likes of Ronaldinho, Ryan Giggs, Hernan Crespo and Paul Scholes battle it out against each other in the 10-day event starting July 15. Six franchises will take part in this entertainment saga which is the first of its kind in India. Teams were selected by a panel of International Futsal experts with a view to make the squads balanced and the league competitive.
Also Read: Premier Futsal League 2016 India Schedule: Download PDF including match date and venue
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You can buy the tickets for India’s first ever Premier Futsal League here.
The six teams who will be participating in this league will be Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Kolkata, Mumbai and Kochi. Legends of the footballing world have been signed as the marquee players for each team for the Premier Futsal League which has been promoted by Indian cricket sensation, Virat Kohli himself.
Also Read: Premier Futsal League 2016 Teams: Full list of players from all squads competing in the tournament
Former Manchester United players like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes who’ve attained cult status in football will ply their trade for Mumbai 5s and Bengaluru 5s respectively. Former Argentine forward Hernan Crespo will play for Kolkata 5s while Brazilian magician Ronaldinho will line up to show his skills for Goa 5s. Chennai 5s will have a very special player in Falcao lining up for them, who is arguably the best ever to have played the game of futsal.
For those of you who are not familiar with what Futsal is, it is the T20 of football. Smaller pitches, lighter boots, fewer players and a whole lot of entertainment is what constitutes this fast-paced game. The game has no offside rule, and kick-ins instead of throw-ins are just some of the deviations from traditional rules of football allowing the players ample scope to show off their skills and tricks with two halves of 20 minutes each.
Also Read: What is Futsal? How is it different from Football?
Indian players have also been picked for each of the sides via a talent hunt event named ‘Launchpad’ which had been conducted across eight cities and the selected players have been drawn into each of the six teams. It will be interesting to see if the Indian players can make noteworthy contributions in the tournament which requires more skill and less physicality, something which Indian players have never lacked.
The inaugural match of the Premier Futsal League will kick-start at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on 15 July. Chennai face Mumbai in the first match followed by a showdown between the footballing capitals of India, Goa and Kolkata. The teams have been divided into two groups who will battle it out for a place in the finals to be held in Goa on 24 July.
