Premier Futsal League: Hunt for new faces begins

A month after they inked a deal to rope in futsal superstar Alessandro Rosa Vieira of Brazil, popularly known as Falcao, Premier Futsal League launched its nationwide talent hunt programme on Thursday.

The programme will target players between the age group of 18-24 and is expected to cover all the eight franchisee cities -- Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and Kochi -- roping in 20-25 players per city.

The selected players will then attend a training camp in Mumbai, which will also serve as the final selection round ahead of the inaugural season of the league. The first round will begin on May 26 in Mumbai, while the Bengaluru leg will be held the next day.

“We want to ensure that footballers in our country get enough opportunity to showcase their skills and make a living out of the game if they’re good enough,” said Dinesh Raj, the managing director of Premier Futsal league.

“The shortlisted players from the eight cities will head to Mumbai for a camp, where they will train alongside international players and from there, five players will be selected by each team,” he added about the selection of the Indian players for the 14-member squad that will consist of one marquee player, five Indian players and eight international players.

Dinesh also confirmed that the league management was in talks with a number of private entities as they continue the hunt for team owners. “We are yet to get a clarity on that front. We are in talks with a number of guys as many organisations have shown interest in having a team in the league. The talks are still on and we expect to announce the teams by June,” he stated.

Though the All India Football Federation (AIFF), following a FIFA directive, still has reservations in recognising the league, Dinesh assured that it was not a concern for the league. “I don’t think it matters much. If you look at it, they can’t recognise us as AIFF is the governing body for football in India and not futsal. We have been recognised by the Futsal Association of India and moreover, the World Futsal Association (AMF) has also granted us recognition,” he said.