The tournament format gives five-a-side football a special twist; city qualifiers begin on Oct22 in Pune
The Goan Network
Panaji
Global football tournament Neymar Jr’s Five is coming to India, giving footballers the chance to play in Brazil. Neymar Jr’s Five reflects the star footballer’s dynamic style of playing and his unbreakable strive for fun in his life. This five-a-side football game carries the main objective of scoring as many goals as fast as possible and outplaying the players of the opposing team. The team that concedes a goal has to send one player off the pitch, and each game continues until one team has lost all five players, or for 10 minutes, whichever comes first.
The first-ever qualifiers for the tournament in India were held earlier this year as Winning 5, with a young team from Bangalore – called Dream Team – emerging victorious, and subsequently travelling to Brazil to compete in the Neymar Jr’s Five World Finals in July this year. The format returns to India this year as Neymar Jr’s Five for the first time and bigger than ever.
City qualifiers will be held in 12 cities across the country, including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Shillong, Kolkata and Goa. Winners from each of these qualifiers will then go on to compete in the national finals early next year, taking them one step closer to that coveted ticket to Neymar Jr’s own backyard.
Undoubtedly every footballer’s dream, a trip to Brazil and the chance to meet Neymar Jr are unparalled experiences. Says Dream Team, the team from Bengaluru who experienced this first hand, “the format for Neymar Jr’s Five is a lot of fun. The rules make it a lot more fun and competitive – you lose your game for a minute and bam, you lose a player. Properties such as this motivate Indian footballers to work hard, to achieve opportunities to represent their own country, which is always a very proud moment.
"We stayed in Brazil for five days and remember every second of it. We went to Santos, Neymar Jr’s home town, and the people there are some of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. We visited the Santos stadium, which is where the draws were decided. Over the next two days we played the tournament, which was held in Neymar’s stadium, Instituto Neymar Jr – and what a beautiful stadium it is. On the second day, the most loved man in the country, Neymar Jr himself, came and we couldn’t believe our eyes. He is a beast, and such an inspiration to people all over the world.”
Schedule for city qualifiers
Oct 22 & 23 - Pune, HotFut
Oct 22 & 23 - Ahmedabad Racket Academy, Sindhubhawan Road
Oct 23 - Goa,Don Bosco College
Nob 5 & 6 - Bangalore HotFut & PlayArena
Nov 19&20 - Guwahati, Royal Group of Institution
Nov 26 & 27 - Chennai (TBC)
Nob 26 & 27 - Cochin,St. Paul's College
Nov 26 & 27 - Kolkata, BACA Ground, Salt Lake
Nov 26 & 27 - Mumbai Kick (Powai & Priyadarshini) & HotFut (Dadar)
Nov 26 & 27 - Hyderabad HotFut
Nov 27 - Delhi Plaza Farm
Dec 3 & 4 - Shillong, St. Edmund College
(Registrations are open, please check: www.redbull.in/neymarjrsfive)
