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AIFF has asked its affiliated members to ‘not cooperate’ with the league
The All India Football Federation is considering "legal action" against organisers of Premier Futsal League, headed by legendary Portuguese playmaker Luis Figo, and said it is planning to come up with a similar event of its own.
The AIFF have informed the sports ministry that the Futsal Association of India (FAI) is an unrecognised body and informed the state associations of their plan.
"The AIFF is the governing body for all forms of football, including futsal, in India and we will be announcing our plans, in relation to futsal, in due course," read a letter from AIFF general secretary Kushal Das to state associations earlier this week.
With Premier Futsal League announcing the dates of their inaugural season, set to take place between July 15 to 24, and also getting a broadcaster on board, the AIFF has asked its affiliated members to ‘not cooperate’ with the league.
"This is to bring to your notice that AIFF is not involved with the proposed Premier Futsal League, the news of launch of which has been making rounds in media in the recent past. The competition is neither sanctioned by AIFF nor is organised under the aegis of AIFF. Further, the organising body – Futsal Association of India (FAI) is not a member or affiliated in any way with, the AIFF, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) or FIFA," the letter stated.
Das urged the state associations to inform the clubs affiliated with them and the players to steer clear of the Premier Futsal League, which has roped in star cricketer Virat Kohli as its brand ambassador.
"As members of AIFF, all state associations are to comply with the statutes and regulations of AIFF and their actions should be in compliance with the constitution of AIFF," Das mentioned.
Indian Football Association (IFA), which is the governing body for football in West Bengal, have already informed the clubs and players associated with them.
"Yes, we have received that letter and have taken it into consideration. IFA is doing its best to make sure there is no problem and we have issued a notice to all our affiliated members and stakeholders," said Utpal Ganguly, president of IFA, adding that IFA hasn't been in contact with FAI.
In April, Figo announced the launch of Premier Futsal, a first-ever multi-national futsal league conceptualised by Indian entrepreneurs under the entity Premier Futsal Management.
The league will take place from July 15-24 featuring eight teams from different cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai.
Futsal, a 5-a-side variant of soccer with two halves of 20 minutes each, is governed by Futsal Association of India (FAI) with accreditation from the international governing body, Association Mundial de Futsal (AMF).
Premier Futsal will include a total of 56 current players from across the world in a competitive format.
Each team will compulsorily comprise of three international futsal players, one international marquee soccer player and one Indian Futsal player with the squad comprising of 12 players.
Musical maestro AR Rahman and the swashbuckling Kohli will join forces to compose the official anthem for the inaugural season of the star-studded league.