Dubai: Former Barcelona and Chelsea legends Deco and Andriy Shevchenko will make their debut as the semi-finals and final of this year’s Premier Futsal moves between India and Dubai later this summer.
Brazilian star Falcao, often referred to as the ‘Pele of Futsal’, will join marquee players such as Deco and Shevchenko lending further credibility to the event that also has other names like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Michel Salgado, Ronaldinho, Cafu and Hernan Crespo in a competition that was launched in India only last year.
This year’s competition has been tentatively fixed to be held in the second half of July with the semi-finals and final in Dubai in August.
Former Portugal and Real Madrid star Luis Figo, President of Premier Futsal, announced the move to Dubai of the second edition of the six-team competition on Sunday in the presence of Saeed Hareb, General Secretary, Dubai Sports Council (DSC), Alessandro Rosa Viera [Falcao] and other officials from the Chennai-based Premier Futsal Management.
“This is a unique project because we bring together professional futsal players and the legends of football alongside Indian players. As the president of Premier Futsal, I am really excited to see this project grow over a short time, and now coming to Dubai it gets a truly international flavour,” Figo told media.
“Sometimes we have had to pass through difficulties as this is a private investment. But our team has stood together strong and here we are in a place like Dubai that will host the semi-finals and final in August. People from more than 75 countries will watch this event live on television and all this is a major step for our sport,” Figo added.
The actual tournament involving six teams representing six major cities in India was held over a three-week period in July 2016. As per regulations, each team is allowed a marquee player, a handful of top futsal players and locally recruited home-grown players who are scouted through various talent hunts across India. Giggs-led Mumbai 5s defeated Kochi 5s in a penalty shoot-out in last year’s final, while Ronaldinho-led Goa 5s ended in third place.
Falcao confirmed that getting football legends like Deco and Shevchenko will further enhance the standing of the event around the world. “The first edition in India was a success and we chose this destination with partnership from DSC to ensure the growth of this tournament. It is now my responsibility to continue this growth as a few more legends such as Deco and Shevchenko join us as marquee players,” Falcao said.
“I am confident futsal will continue growing due to the work we are putting in. It is a great joy to see communities get involved in our sport as we try and reach out to a wider audience by adapting a few rules that allow some of the football legends play alongside the best futsal players and local talent,” he added.
