FIFA calls proposed Futsal League as unauthorised

The Premier Futsal League (PFL) has attracted Fifa’s attention — and reportedly not the right kind — just a day after a wellpublicised event featuring former Portugal and Real Madrid star Luis Figo.

The Press Trust of India has reported that Fifa has written to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on the PFL. An unnamed source was quoted by PTI as saying: “Fifa’s head of events, Jaime Yarza, has sent a letter to the AIFF expressing concerns over a non-affiliated group having announced the Futsal League, which has not been sanctioned by them.”

However, Balu Nayar, executive director, PFL said that the league could exist independent of FIFA under the AMF (Asociación Mundial de Futsal). The AMF is a governing body of futsal that began operations in 1971 under the name FIFUSA (Asociación Mundial de Fútbol de Salón).

Fifa and AMF exist independent of each other and organise events separately. The AMF even has its own Asian and world futsal championships. FIFA got into futsal after the AMF, in the late 1980s, added Nayar. Figo was also announced as the president of the league, which was planned by Indian entrepreneurs under the entity Premier Futsal Management Pvt Ltd. The league, in association with AMF-affiliated Futsal Association of India, will have eight franchises — in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad and Goa.