Now we know why Ryan Giggs didn't want to be the assistant manager of Manchester United. The Premier Futsal League India is finally here (almost), and worldies like Ronaldinho and Ryan Giggs are going to kick off the grand competition. As the dust settles we realise the six marquee players are actually THE marquee players of their generation, in midfield maestro Paul Scholes, wing wizard Ryan Giggs, smiling assassin Ronaldinho, fox in the box Crespo, Real Madrid legend Salgado and arguably the best futsal player the world has ever seen in Falcao.
Also Read: Premier Futsal League 2016 Teams: Full list of players from all squads competing in the tournament
The franchises have been named for the first season, the six teams will play for the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Goa. The teams have been chosen by elite panel Futsal experts in the view to make the competition more valid and equal. For the next season though, the players will be in a bidding pool from which each franchise will have to bid for them.
Also Read: What is Futsal? How is it different from Football?
What will be interesting to see is the contribution of the Indian players to the tournament, after the talent hunt competition and a boot camp at Chennai, five players of Indian nationality were chosen for each of the six franchises.
The teams are divided into two groups, they are
Group A | Group B |
Chennai | Goa |
Mumbai | Kolkata |
Kochi | Bangalore |
The tournament will be played from 15th July to 24th July. The two venues for the games are Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai and Peddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa. Here are the fixtures
Date | Match 1 | Match 2 | Venue |
15th July, 2016 | Chennai vs Mumbai | Goa vs Kolkata | Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai |
16th July, 2016 | Mumbai vs Kochi | Kolkata vs Bangalore | Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai |
17th July, 2016 | Kochi vs Chennai | Bangalore vs Goa | Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai |
18th July, 2016 | Rest/Travel | ||
19th July, 2016 | Kolkata vs Goa | Mumbai vs Chennai | Peddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa |
20th July, 2016 | Bangalore vs Kolkata | Kochi vs Mumbai | Peddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa |
21st July, 2016 | Goa vs Bangalore | Chennai vs Kochi | Peddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa |
22nd July, 2016 | Rest/Travel | ||
23rd July, 2016 | Group A Winner vs Group B Runner-up | Group B Winner vs Group A Runner-up | Peddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa |
24th July, 2016 | Closing ceremony | Final | Peddem Sports Complex, Mapusa, Goa |
Two teams from each group will qualify to the semi-final, and the final will take place at Goa.
You can download the pdf here.
