PANAJI
Premier Futsal, the world’s first multi-national team-based futsal league, is set to take place in India from July 15-24. Over 50 international futsallers from four continents and 21 countries are expected to participate. The league, governed by the Futsal Association of India (FAI) is accredited with the international governing body, Asociación Mundial de Futsal (AMF).
The recently launched nationwide talent hunt dubbed as ‘Premier Futsal Launchpad’ will identify and pick the top local futsalling talent to play in the inaugural season of the world’s first-ever multi-national futsal league. The talent hunt will kick off on May 29 in Mumbai and will pick a total of 40 players “ five per city “ who will go on to represent their home cities in the league. The Goa leg of the talent hunt will take place at Chowgule Sports Centre, Margao from June 3-5.
The ‘Launchpad’ was recently announced by cricket star Virat Kohli in presence of the ‘Pele of futsal’ Alessandro Rosa Viera or fondly known as ‘Falcao’ in Bengaluru. Dinesh Raj, Managing Director, Premier Futsal, in an interaction with the media in Panaji on Friday elaborated on ‘Launchpad’, the national talent hunt programme.
Said Raj on bringing Premier Futsal to India: “Futsal has been in India since 2009, but the reach is unlike cricket. India has a National Futsal League which happens every December. In fact, last year the Indian team went to Chile," he said.
"Futsal is played in most countries indoors on basketball courts instead of new stadiums. As this is the first of its kind league in the world, it will be telecast worldwide. In terms of legends, each of the eight teams will have one legend, with the top 20 futsallers of the world participating," Raj added.
"The 5-a-side game will have eight teams known by its city name which would include Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Kochi. In Goa, the games will be played at Peddem Indoor Stadium with 40m x 20m dimensions (playing surface) on terra flex/ wooden flooring. Each game will be split into two halves of 20 minutes each, with a five-minute break in between and will include rolling substitutions with at least a local player playing throughout the match and the marquee signing to make way for a local player at some point in the match as well. The announcements of the various teams through the Players Draft will be made on June 20.”
The Premier Futsal MD added: “We have the Futsal Association of India, we have players in India but we do not want the national team to play here. We want a local flavour of each city. And to this effect, we are doing a Talent Hunt at Chowgule Sports Centre on June 3. The registrations have already begun. The actual agenda is that whosoever can play futsal can register. In terms of the players’ skills, there will be referees to check. After checking from here, out of 300-400 people coming in, a minimum of 15 players would be taken from each city. We will gather the selected futsallers in Chennai for a boot camp starting from June 25 (for a period of 15 days) where an international coach will look into their training right from their diet to skill levels.
"This is because if they directly go into the game, it would be very difficult for them to play with the international players. So the Indian players would be trained along with the international coach and international players, which will also ensure that they get the feel of team-work which is also very important. Thereon, five players from each city will be selected to represent their respective teams.”
GOA TRIALS
• Dates: June 3-5
• Venue: Chowgule Sports Centre, Margao
• Time: 8 am - 12 pm
• Eligibility: Males between the ages of 18-24 years
• Registration process: Fill out the registration form at http://www.premierfutsal.com/launchpad
