Premier Futsal: Bengali actor Jeet acquires Kolkata team

Kolkata became the second franchise to be sold after the Chennai team. The team will be known as ‘Kolkata 5s’ as each franchise will be similarly named in the inaugural season.

Bengali cinestar Jeet has bought the Kolkata franchise of the Premier Futsal League.

Bengali cinestar Jeet has acquired the Kolkata franchise of the first-ever multi-nation Premier Futsal League (PFL) scheduled to start on July 15.

The team will be known as ‘Kolkata 5s’ as each franchise will be similarly named in the inaugural season.

The owners will be allowed to rebrand their respective teams from season two.

“Football has a huge following in Kolkata, where love for the sport is passed on from one generation to the next,” Jeet, the director of Grassroot Entertainment Pvt Ltd that has signed the deal with Premier Futsal, said in a release.

“It is a matter of great pride for me to introduce the faster, shorter version, of the beautiful game to the city.”

Kolkata became the second franchise to be sold after the Chennai team. “The young generation can hone their skills and talent, which will benefit in long-term development of footballers. I urge people to support the Kolkata franchise.”

The other franchise owners will be unveiled soon, Premier Futsal managing director Dinesh Raj said.

The league has signed some of the best futsallers in the world — spearheaded by the renowned Alessandro Rosa Vieira, fondly known as ‘Falcao’ — and has even enticed the likes of Paul Scholes, Michel Salgado and Deco.

Each franchise will be assigned a marquee international football player, seven international and five Indian futsallers for their squad to participate in the inaugural season through a player draft scheduled later this month.