Asian Premier Futsal Championship
| Organising body | Futsal Association of India |
|---|---|
| Founded | 5 April 2016 |
| Country | India (originally) |
| Number of clubs | 16 (proposed) |
| Current champions | Mumbai Warriors |
| TV partners | Sony SIX Sony ESPN Sony Aath |
The Premier Futsal is an Indian franchise-based futsal league conceptualised by Indian entrepreneurs under the entity of Pvt. Ltd. It was founded by Abhinandan Balasubramanian, Dinesh Raj and Nithyashree Subban, backed by business magnate Xavier Britto and his wife, philanthropist Vimala Rani Britto.
Format
[edit]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.[citation needed]
Premier Futsal 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.[1] Mumbai 5's won the inaugural Premier Futsal by defeating Kochi 5's in the penalty shootout.[citation needed]
Management team
[edit]- Xavier Britto - Chairman & investor of Premier Futsal, founder & chairman of Estell group of hotels & Kerry Indev Logistics[2] & Indev Logistics[3]
- Dinesh Raj - Managing director of Premier Futsal, Guinness World Record holder for creating the India's largest human national flag
- Abhinandan Balasubramanian - CEO of Premier Futsal, founder of AltFlo & ChefHost[4]
- Nithyashree Subban - Director of Finance & Strategy, Premier Futsal
- Vimala Rani Britto - Director of Premier Futsal, Correspondent - St Britto's Group of Institutions, founder & chairperson - Seek Foundation, a non-profit organization, Chair - VKAN-V Solutions pvt Ltd, Author - FEFDY
Brand ambassadors
[edit]Indian cricket team batsman Virat Kohli has joined the Premier Futsal as its brand ambassador.[5]
Premier Futsal attracted a lot of fans when they signed one of the best futsal players in the world, Alessandro Rosa Vieira, popularly known as Falcão.[6]
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.[7]
Anthem
[edit]The Premier Futsal anthem Naam Hai Futsal had its tunes set by two-time Academy Award winner A. R. Rahman with vocals also provided by Karthik, Lady Kash and Virat Kohli.
Previous teams
[edit]| Team | City | Owner | Marquee | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kolkata 5's | Kolkata, West Bengal | Grassroot Entertainment Pvt. Ltd |  Hernán Crespo
|
Christian Roldan |
| Chennai Singhams | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | The Hindu |  Falcão
|
Falcão |
| Bengaluru Royals | Bengaluru, Karnataka | Puneeth Rajkumar[8] |  Paul Scholes
|
Juan Jose Bernal Cierre |
| Telugu Tigers | Hyderabad, Telangana | Rana Daggubati Esa Mohammed and Jonaid Bin Tajuddin Al Mohammed |  Deco
|
|
| Kerala Cobras | Kochi, Kerala | ES Entertainment |  Míchel Salgado
|
Sergio Sapo |
| Mumbai Warriors | Mumbai, Maharashtra | DC Design |  Ryan Giggs
|
Ney Pereira |
| Delhi Dragons | New Delhi | Ronaldinho
|
||
| Goa's | Goa | Cafu
|
Results
[edit]By season
[edit]| Season | Date | Winner | Score | Runners–up | Venue | Player of the tournament | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 24 July | Mumbai | 1(3)–1(2) | Kerala | Peddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa | Chaguinha
|
Kolkata Goa |
| 2017 | 1 October | Mumbai | 3–2 | Delhi | Al Wasl Indoor Stadium, Dubai | Ronaldinho
|
Telugu Tigers Bengaluru Royals |
Telecast
[edit]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.[9]
In Indonesia, all Premier Futsal matches also broadcast live on nonton.com (2016 only)[10] and Super Soccer TV (from 2017).[11]
See also
[edit]- History of Indian football
- AFC Futsal Asian Cup
- FIFA Futsal World Cup
- AIFF Futsal Club Championship
- Minifootball
- Five-a-side football
- Indoor soccer
References
[edit]- ^ "Football's T20 moment". Financial Express. 17 April 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Esthell Group Launches Rs 50-crore Esthell Village Resort at Thirukazhukundram". Businesswire India. 23 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Indev Logistics to launch coastal shipping services". Hindu Business Line. 18 July 2013. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "ChefHost brings bespoke professional cuisine to your dinner party". Venture Burn. 21 October 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "Virat Kohli joins Premier Futsal football league as brand ambassador". The Indian Express. 11 April 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Pelé of futsal in India: Premier Futsal signs Brazilian star Falcao for inaugural season". Hindustan Times. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Virat Kohli launches Premier Futsal League's nationwide talent hunt". Hindustan Times. 12 May 2016. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "Actor Rajkumar buys Bengaluru franchise of Premier Futsal". Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
- ^ "Sony Pictures to broadcast Premier Futsal matches live". Business Line. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- ^ Indonesia, Nonton.com - Website video stream terbesar di. "Premier Futsal League 2016". Nonton.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- ^ "Super Soccer TV on Instagram: "Premier Futsal 2017 kali ini spesial, selain bintang dunia Ronaldinho, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Deco, Hernan Crespo, dan Michael Salgado.…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
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