Premier Futsal clears the air on the legal existence of the league

The organisers of Premier Futsal have issued an official statement refuting falsities that are leading to unnecessary rumour mongering about the very legal existence of the league. One such falsity that is being fuelled is that the international football legend, Deco, will not be participating in the inaugural season of Premier Futsal due to non-payment of a signing amount.

Premier Futsal in its statement said that Deco was unable to participate in the inaugural season of Premier Futsal due to an injury. “We will soon circulate a video message from Deco himself to expose these baseless statements planted to artificially create a negative perception around our league,” the statement added.

Premier Futsal is a semi-professional, private league and is in collaboration with Futsal Association of India (FAI), which falls under The Asociación Mundial de Futsal (AMF). Premier Futsal obtains technical support from the AMF, which has been the world governing body for Futsal since 1971. Globally, the AMF and FIFA co-exist. The FAI, a recognised sports body, is the only entity that has been working towards the development of Futsal in India for eight years.

The statement further said, “Premier Futsal does not need the sanction or authorisation of the AIFF, and does not intend to poach players etc., there are anyway no registered futsallers there.”

“Conducting a semi-professional league is fully permissible legally in our democracy and has been validated by legal experts at our end. 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 of Premier Futsal starting July 15,” it added.

Top international Futsallers and footballers have legally committed to the league in all transparency.

The statement continued, “As entrepreneurs, we were pursuing our Prime Minister’s call for innovation in entrepreneurship and through Premier Futsal we are introducing one of the world’s fastest growing sports to India. The high-handed and negative approach of the AIFF is appalling and is a blatant attempt to use its clout to stunt the progress of entrepreneurship in the field of sports.”

Moreover, legal precedence states that one entity cannot have monopoly over a particular sport. “Neither AIFF nor any sporting authority can claim to be sole custodians of a sport in India,” the statement added.

The organisers maintained that the league was on track and details pertaining to team owners and fixtures would be revealed in Chennai on July 12, 2016 during the curtain raiser ahead of the kick-off to the inaugural season on July 15.