Manchester United legend Paul Scholes is all set to feature in Premier Futsal, to be played in India, after becoming the second marquee signing of the project.
Having made 718 appearances for English Premier League giants Manchester United, Paul Scholes is a legend when it comes to Futsal’s more widely recognised brother, football. “The Ginger Prince”, as he is widely called in the footballing community, has had a coveted career in football winning 25 trophies with the Red Devils, including 11 Premier League titles and 2 Champions League medals. He also has 66 caps for The Three Lions.
He has agreed to play in the next three editions of Premier Futsal, with the inaugural season scheduled to begin next month. Paul Scholes announced his retirement from football due to lingering knee issues and it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the rigors of playing futsal.
“Futsal is a fascinating format that has played a pivotal role in developing the skills of some of the greatest football players. I have seen Futsal grow not just back home, but also across the world and I have played in a few of those tournaments,” said the midfield maestro.
“Premier Futsal will be a great way to introduce the sport to India and I’m looking forward to meeting the fans across India who I know are some of the most passionate in the world,” he added.
Futsal is a 5-a-side shorter variant of football and is governed by the Asociación Mundial de Futsal. Premier Futsal had earlier made waves after announcing Luis Figo as the President of the body and Virat Kohli as the Brand Ambassador. Premier Futsal is the first ever multi-national Futsal League conceptualised by Indian entrepreneurs with the backing of businessman Xavier Britto of the Indev Group.
The league has already signed arguably Futsal’s most renowned player in Brazilian Alessandro Rosa Vieira or as he is more commonly known, Falcao. 19 other international futsal players have signed on to the project including ex-Portugese football star, Deco, who was their first marquee signing.
Premier Futsal is a private body but has been supported by the international Futsal association, Associacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF). The format will be an 8-team league with each franchise comprising three international players, one international marquee player and one Indian player. Each squad would be made up of 12 players. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad and Goa are the eight cities which will have franchise outfits.
