New Delhi, March 09, 2017: It was a spectacle befitting the coming together of football legends, Luis Figo and Ryan Giggs, and the Pele of Futsal, Falcao as Premier Futsal Season 2 was announced amidst fanfare. Season 2 of the biggest and most viewed futsal event in the world is all set to surpass the inaugural season with significant additions to the 1st edition, with number of matchdays increasing from 8 to 14, matches increasing from 15 to 27, and venues set to be in 3 cities, making room for a great spectator experience and prolonged activation with the event.
The founders of Premier Futsal, Mr. Dinesh Raj, Managing Director, Mr. Abhinandan Balasubramanian, CEO and Director of Business and Strategy, and Ms. Nithyashree Subban, Director of Finance and Compliance, along with the anchor investor Mr Xavier Britto announced the commencement of the LaunchPad initiative and the plans for the season 2 and beyond. A first-of-its-kind scouting & talent hunt program globally, the LaunchPad provides a unique opportunity for amateur players to audition and get selected for their cityas team at the flagship event, and most intriguingly, the chance to be mentored by ex-football superstars and play with the current best talent of futsal in the world. Premier Futsal aims to raise awareness of futsal amongst all strata of the society and contribute significantly to community inclusion. Holding true to its commitment of taking the sport to the diverse regions of the country, Premier Futsal is collaborating with the government in its talent hunt initiative. With a larger outlay in investments, size of tournament and broadcast reach globally, Premier Futsal has appointed EY as its process advisors to monitor operations, strategy and all commercial partners including sponsors and team owners.
Gracing the occasion with their presence were Ryan Giggs, Luis Figo (President Premier Futsal), Alessandro Rosa Vieira, popularly known as FalcA?o, Mr. Xavier Britto, Chairman & investor of Premier Futsal and Mrs. Vimala Britto, Co-Promoter, Premier Futsal along with the founders, Mr. Dinesh Raj, Managing Director, Mr. Abhinandan Balasubramanian, CEO and Ms. Nithyashree Subban, Director of Finance & Strategy.
Mr. Xavier Britto said a?With my main business Indev recently entering a JV with the Kerry Group, part of a $20Bn conglomerate and with their support, we are looking to expand Premier Futsal to reach a wider audience and deliver a successful and thrilling event in India and China. We have designed a viable business model for all our stakeholders, current and proposed. We are also building a robust governance infrastructure putting together eminent personalities who will guide the tournament to ensure transparent governance and fair stakeholder management.a?
Mr. Dinesh Raj, Managing Director, Premier Futsal added a?With our expansion plans to take Premier Futsal global to locations like China, Taiwan and Dubai, we are also in discussion with multiple institutional investors who are looking to fuel our growth. Private participation in the sports sector is going to supplement the exemplary work of our government and our Prime Ministeras vision to make India a multi-discipline sports leader in the years to come. To achieve this, we are already in discussions with large corporates and industrialists as team owners and sponsors who acknowledge the leagueas commitment and will equally participate in making Premier Futsal a grand success.a?
Mrs. Vimala Britto, Promoter, Premier Futsal said, a?The success of season one of Premier Futsal and LaunchPad encouraged us to broaden our outlook and further foster the sport in India. Futsal viewership in India spiked last year with Premier Futsal Season 1 registering a viewership of over 33 million. Itas an excellent opportunity for an event such Premier Futsal to propagate the sport at a time when there is an ever increasing appetite amongst the audience. Premier Futsal season 2 will not only be instrumental in providing the sport with the much-deserved recognition in India but will also set the benchmark for privately organised tournaments in the global sports ecosystem.a?
LaunchPad is created, developed and produced to scout 5 local players for each of the participating city-teams from a pool of over 2000 participants. The talent hunt registration begins from March 10, 2017 to April 10, 2017, open to applicants between 18 to 30 years of age. Shortlisted players will be put through rigorous training at a three to five-day camp in their respective cities, where they will be evaluated for physical fitness, mental agility and technical attributes like flair, positioning, dribbling, passing and tackling.
Mr. Luis Figo, President of Premier Futsal, mentioned a?My association with Premier Futsal has been a special one. The 2016 edition of the tournament brought back memories of enjoying the sport back in the streets of my hometown in Portugal. Season 1 of Premier Futsal was a great experience as it allowed me to experience and view first hand, the potential India holds in this sport. We were able to unearth some very promising, young players who rose to the occasion when needed and contributed to quality of futsal played on court, a first-of-its-kind in the world. With Season 2, we seek to be bigger and aim to reach out to a wider audience while potentially changing lives via LaunchPad, which is going to act as a great awareness campaign for the sport and promote community building through youth engagement.a?
Season One of Premier Futsal was a resounding success with a viewership of 61 million+ all over the world. The tournament was broadcasted in United Kingdom, Middle East, Europe, South America and South East Asia regions other than India. Season 2.0 only promises to be more engaging providing an engaging experience to the audience.
