And here we were thinking that football was over until August 3rd and the start of the Rio Summer Olympics tournament. The latest news from India is the announcement of the inaugural Premier Futsal League to be hosted in the cities of Chennai and Goa.
The tournament begins on July 15th and features six teams in the competition. The league’s president is former Real Madrid star Luis Figo, and each side features one marquee player. Those six players are Hernan Crespo, indoor soccer legend Falcao, Paul Scholes, Ronaldinho, Michel Salgado and Ryan Giggs. Deco was forced to withdraw from the competition due to an injury complaint.
Rumo a índia! pic.twitter.com/F9JzlRRBoF
— Ronaldinho Gaúcho (@10Ronaldinho) July 12, 2016
The competition will end on July 24th, and promises to “revolutionize how the sport is played and consumed globally.” The competitions management team has also promised to bring together 72 of the world’s best Futsal players.
The tournament also had a nationwide talent hunt to discover the best 40 Indian Futsallers to be included on the teams.
The tournament has not been without its share of controversy and perceived avarice.
Premier Futsal Co-Founder Nithyashree Subban was forced to defend the tournament by saying, “amidst all the false allegations and attempts to tarnish the image of Premier Futsal, we are proud to kick-start our inaugural edition as scheduled on July 15 in Chennai. . .As Premier Futsal Management, we are committed to grow Futsal here in India and we will expand the league to other cities in the future editions.”
It wouldn’t be an international tournament without allegations of corruption, greed and lies.
(H/T: Sky Sports)
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