The inaugural edition of the Premier Futsal league, the world’s first multi-national futsal tournament, began on Friday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. The first edition comprises six franchises divided in two groups, which will battle for a spot in the final in Goa on July 24.
Here is an A to Z of Premier Futsal:
A is for AIFF: The All India Football Federation has toiled hard to stamp their authority on the five-a-side game, but even after their threats of sanctioning players and associations, the Premier Futsal has sailed through and is set to commence on Friday.
B is for Balu Nayar: A former managing director of sports and celebrity management company IMG, Nayar is part of the think-tank that came up with the idea of the futsal league. The former regional director of Yahoo, South Asia, was also responsible for the designing the Indian Premier League (IPL).
C is for Class of ‘92: A number of players rising through the ranks of the Manchester United academy during the early nineties have made a name for themselves in world football. Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, two important cogs of the Class of ’92, have been roped in as marquee players.
D is for Drama: On Tuesday, in a press conference in Chennai, the journalists present were handed a few sheets listing "tentative squads", which included the names of Ronaldinho, Giggs and Scholes. Soon, the organisers took those back saying they were not final. However, a couple of hours later, the names of all high-profile recruits were formally announced. The back-and-forth and the drama has been an integral part of the competition that will finally kick-off this week.
E is for Equality: All the Indian players who are part of the squads will belong to the same pay bracket. This equal payscale can mean two things – all of them have pretty similar set of skills or it’s too early even for the organisers to differentiate between the players.
F is for Falcao: Arguably the best futsal player of recent years, the Brazilian professional Alessandro Rosa Vieira, known by the name Falcao, is dearly called the Pele of futsal. Along with a few other regular names of the international circuit, he will be one of the stars to watch out for in the tournament.
G is for Goa: One of the only two venues where the matches will be held. The hotbed of football will also host the final on 24th July.
H is for Hernan Crespo: Argentina’s third highest goal-scorer of all time, Crespo will be playing for the Kolkata franchise. This is the second time he has been signed by an Indian side. He had earlier emerged as the hottest property in the auction of the Premier League Soccer (PLS) in Kolkata in early 2012, when the Barasat franchise bought him for a whopping $840,000. The league never saw the light of the day.
I is for Indian players: In the initial team lists that were circulated, players were tagged in three categories – marquee, international futsal player and Indian. The domestic players are set to play the role of fillers but it remains to be seen whether they look out of place amidst the stellar presence of stars.
J is for Jawaharlal Nehru: India's first prime minister is an omnipresent figure in the Indian Super League with 50% of the venues named after him. The same holds true for Premier Futsal too, as the high-profile tournament will kick-start in the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai.
L is for Luis Figo: The former Portugal national football team skipper is the president of the organising body. A close aide of the newly elected Fifa president Gianni Infantino, Figo has opted to endorse a product affiliated with Asociación Mundial de Futsal (AMF), who fight with FIFA for the global rights of the game. It was a baffling choice made by the former Real Madrid and Barcelona player, but his presence has definitely lifted the profile of the league.
M is for Michel Salgado: The right-back, who represented Real Madrid for almost a decade, will be one of the marquee players and will be donning the Kochi franchise’s jersey.
N is for ‘Naam hain futsal’: The title song of the competition sung by Oscar winning musician AR Rahman also has Virat Kohli shaking his legs. Rahman will be performing in the inauguration ceremony of the competition on Friday evening.
O is for Octavio Gomes De Oliviera Junior: The well-known gaffer of the Futsal world will be in charge of the Goa franchise.
P is for Pre-season: With marquee players arriving a couple of days before the start, none of the teams have had proper pre-season training. This will surely take a toll on the quality of futsal.
Q is for Questions: Will Premier Futsal be able to emulate the success of IPL and ISL? Will it help in scouting young Indian players? Or will it end up being a post-retirement bonus scheme for footballers? Questions galore.
R is for Ronaldinho: The elegant playmaker will be the main attraction here, as his playing style bodes well with the requirements of futsal. The former Barcelona player will be representing Goa.
S is for Sony SIX: The matches will be telecast on a number of TV channels and also on mobile and internet platforms. You can get the full schedule here.
T is for Teams: Six teams will be taking part, with Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Goa, Bengaluru and Kochi being the cities represented.
U is for United States Futsal Federation: The US body has signed a strategic partnership with the Futsal Association of India (FAI) to help the game grow in the game. Premier Futsal will be the first step in that direction.
V is for Virat Kohli: The captain of the Indian Test cricket team is the brand ambassador of the competition.
W is for World Cup winners: Falcao has won two Futsal World Cups, while Neto, who will be part of the Kochi outfit, has won one. On the other hand, Ronaldinho had won the Fifa football World Cup in 2002. Champions of two sports will now lock horns in India for the bragging rights.
X is for Xavier Britto: The owner of Indev Group of Companies is the chairman of the competition.
Y is for Youth: While the foreign contingent mainly consists of retired footballers and experienced futsal players, the Indian representatives have been selected through a talent hunt program spanning across eight cities. Twelve players per venue were selected, while ultimately five players were drafted per team. It will be interesting to see how the young Indian players fare despite getting very limited opportunities on the turf.
Z is for Zaib: The Indian futsal player is part of the Bengaluru franchise and is expected to get decent playing opportunities over the course of the tournament.