Bengali superstar Jeet’s Grassroot Entertainment has signed a long-term agreement with Premier Futsal to acquire the Kolkata franchise of the first-ever multination futsal league for an undisclosed amount. The agreement makes Kolkata the second franchise to be sold.

Eight franchises — Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Goa, Kochi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru — will compete from July 15-24 in the sporting event. Futsal is an indoor, five-a-side variant of soccer.

“Football has a huge, fervent following in Kolkata, where love for the sport is passed on from one generation to the next,” said Jeet.

“It is therefore a matter of great pride for me to introduce the faster, shorter version of the beautiful game. Through Futsal, the young generation can hone their skills and talent, which will uplift their quality and eventually benefit in long-term development of footballers.”

The Kolkata franchise will be christened Kolkata 5s. In the inaugural season, each team will be similarly named. The franchise owners will be allowed to rebrand their teams later. Dinesh Raj, MD, Premier Futsal, said: “We are delighted to have a superstar of Jeet’s stature backing Premier Futsal and playing his part to grow it in what is football’s Indian heartland. The response we have received from prospective owners across all cities validates our decision to get behind Futsal as a sport.”

Premier Futsal is a private and semi-professional league promoted by Xavier Britto of Indev Group.

Leading players

The league has signed up some of the leading futsallers, including Alessandro Rosa Vieira, Paul Scholes, Michel Salgado and Deco. Each franchise will be assigned a marquee international football player, seven international and five Indian futsallers.

Premier Futsal will be telecast live on Sony Six, Sony ESPN, and Sony AATH.

Matches will also be available through live stream on Sony Liv.

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