The first edition of the Premier Futsal will start as per schedule on the 15th of July with the league releasing a statement saying that they do not sanction or authorisation from the All India Football Federation in order to commence the tournament.

The AIFF on its part had issued warning that continuing with the unsanctioned Premier Futsal would lead to unnecessary issues, refusing to recognise the tournament on the grounds that it was the sole governing body of football and futsal in India. The federation had also issued concerns about the survival of the tournament.

In response Premier Futsal on Monday put forth the statement that it had no concern whatsoever with the AIDD and that conducting the tournament was legally allowed.

“Premier Futsal is a semi-professional, private league and is in collaboration with Futsal Association of India (FAI), which falls under The Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF). Premier Futsal is obtains technical support from AMF which has been the world governing body for Futsal since 1971,” Premier Futsal said in a release.

“Globally, AMF and FIFA co-exist. FAI, a recognized sports body, is the only entity that has been working towards development of Futsal in India — and for 8 years,” it said.

“Premier Futsal does not need sanction or authorization of AIFF and does not intend to poach players — there are anyway no registered futsallers there. Conducting a semiprofessional league is fully permissible legally in our democracy and has been validated by our legal experts.”

With the league well on track, the team and fixtures would be announced on Tuesday in Chennai before the tournament kick starts on July 15th.

“We have just completed ‘Launchpad’ — our talent hunt programme to scout for young Indian futsal players who could play alongside top international futsallers and football legends in the inaugural edition starting July 15,” it said.

Luis Figo  Credits: indianexpress.com
Luis Figo
Credits: indianexpress.com

They also cleared the air regarding Portugal legend Deco withdrawing from the tournament. They refuted the rumours that it was due to non-payment of dues which was primarily the signing amount.

“Just to set the record straight, Deco is unable to participate in the inaugural season of Premier Futsal due to an injury,” it said.

Futsal is a type of football played indoors with five players for each side with one match lasting 40 minutes. Premier Futsal is a franchise based tournament of the sports backed by Indian entrepreneurs which has garnered some of the world’s best players but failed to attract the domestic ones.

It has Portuguese football legend Luis Figo as president and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli as ambassador. The tournament will be governed by Futsal Association of India (FAI), a body affiliated to the world body Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF). With FIFA, the world governing body for football, and AIFF refusing to recognise Premier Futsal, domestic players risk suspensions if they join the tournament.

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