The Premier Futsal was 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
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.
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. Mumbai 5s won the inaugural Premier Futsal by defeating Kochi 5s in the penalty shootout.
Management team Xavier Britto - Chairman & investor & Indev Logistics Dinesh Raj - Managing director of Premier Futsal Abhinandan Balasubramanian - CEO of Premier Futsal Nithyashree Subban - Director of finance & strategy Vimala Rani Britto - Director of Premier Futsal
Brand ambassadors Indian cricket team batsman Virat Kohli has joined the Premier Futsal as its brand ambassador.
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.
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.
Anthem 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 Kolkata 5s 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 Paul Scholes Juan Jose Bernal Cirre 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, Delhi Ronaldinho Goa 5s Goa Cafu
Results By season 201624 JulyMumbai 5s1–1(3-2 p)Kerala 5sPeddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa ChaguinhaKolkata 5s Goa 5s20171 OctoberMumbai Warriors3–2Delhi DragonsAl Wasl Indoor Stadium, Dubai RonaldinhoTelugu Tigers Bengaluru Royals
Telecast 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.
In Indonesia, all Premier Futsal matches also broadcast live on nonton.com (2016 only) and Super Soccer TV (from 2017).
See also History of Indian football AFC Futsal Asian Cup FIFA Futsal World Cup AIFF Futsal Club Championship Minifootball Five-a-side football Indoor soccer
References