Breaking sporting barriers

Who are these guys and how did they even manage to pull it off?!”  This has been the question on almost every football fan’s mind right from the moment the idea of Premier Futsal was announced. From roping in Luis Figo as the president of the venture, to bringing in legends like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Hernan Crespo and Ronaldinho, and being supported by people like A.R. Rahman and Virat Kohli, the organisers have sprung surprises after surprises.

The first edition proved to be a huge success and even garnered the attention of current superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Neymar.

Chennai’s Abhinandan Balasubramanian, Dinesh Raj and Nithya Ganesh are the faces behind Premier Futsal. Now, Dinesh and Abhinandan reveal how they made the unthinkable happen, and why Futsal in India is only going to get bigger from now...

Building initial contacts
“Mixed martial arts is what it is because of UFC; similarly, we want Premier Futsal to be the face of Futsal globally,” starts Abhinandan on an ambitious note. Speaking about how it all began, the 26-year-old entrepreneur says, “After completing my education in UK, I stayed there and worked for a while. At a very young age, I got a chance to meet and interact with blockbuster investors and built a very good network. One of the perks of being in finance is you get to meet football managers and agents. After a while, I quit my job to work on my maiden venture ChefHost. After that, I moved to India and was planning to take a break.”

He adds, “In the meantime, I was exploring ideas as I wanted to start a new venture. I have always been a huge fan of football — in fact, I have been following football longer than cricket. My initial idea was to bring legends to India. I wasn’t thinking about names like Pele or Maradona, but footballers who we grew up watching. This is when Dinesh came into the picture.”

Friends joining hands
Dinesh, who is one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in Chennai, also boasts a significant career as an event manager. He organised socially impactful events like My Flag My India and more.

He says, “I have to first tell you when Abhinandan  spoke to me about the idea, I had no clue about football! I was never a fan. But, we’ve been friends since school and hence, have immense trust on each other. The idea was really good, but I thought we could do something bigger — that’s when I asked him, ‘Why don’t we start a league?’ And we got even more confident when Nithya joined us because she is extremely good at handling finance. It was a great feeling that  three good friends, were getting together to do something new and big.

Zeroing in on Futsal
The trio then began dabbling with options. After a while, they zeroed in on Futsal. “We were not ruling out any option. We even had an idea of hosting ‘legends vs celebrities’ matches. But we realised that it wouldn’t be a sustainable option. We thought Futsal had every aspect to be a hit in India — it is fast, it showcases incredible skills and it is entertaining. As I said earlier, I had a good network with football agents across Europe — who are the power connectors in football. When I bounced off the idea, they were kicked about it. Also, as I was inducted into Futsal back in 2013, it wasn’t something new to me too,” says Abhinandan.

“I knew Futsal would work because the game is visually appealing as it is played indoor — just like the Pro Kabaddi League. We were also extremely lucky to have Xavier Britto agree to be our business partner and subsequently our chairman.”

Figo coming into the picture
I got to know Luis Figo through a bunch people. When I first met him, he couldn’t believe I was just 25 (back then)! Though I knew him earlier, it was in November 2015 that we spoke professionally. Luis invited us for the testimonial match for David Beckham and we talked in detail then. We also spoke with Scholes, Giggs, and Beckham. Luis was very excited about the idea — I have to tell you that he is also an astute businessman,” Abhinandan reminisces.

He goes on, “He initially took his time to ponder over it, and formally came on board around March this year. With him as the president, things changed for us — it gave us a lot of credibility. Apart from him, even for Scholes, Giggs, Crespo and others, the concept was really interesting and they gave their nod almost immediately.”

Dinesh, meanwhile, showers praises on Nithya for working effectively to take care of player contracts and the finance part of the venture — “This part is something which is not very easy to implement. But she made sure that the players with whom we had successful negotiations were given contracts and offers that they couldn’t refuse. Everything went smooth mainly because of her.”

Virat Kohli’s support
“Who else as the brand ambassador, but Virat?” asks Dinesh adding, “He is a fan of Real Madrid and when he knew that Figo would be a part of this venture, he came on board instantly. His flair, attitude and style helped us gain a lot of supporters. We are very grateful to him not just because he came on board, but for standing by us during the difficult phase —when our legitimacy was questioned — a lot of people doubted if the event would even start rolling. But Virat didn’t, even for a second. The man literally danced and sang to lift our spirit!”

Attending the World Football Summit and visiting Santiago Bernebeu
“Being a part of WFS was a very good experience and we got to talk to a lot of people. It was also overwhelming to note that many recognised us,” says Abhinandan. On the other hand, Dinesh says that he still fondly remembers their conversation with people like Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo during their visit to Spanish club Real Madrid — “It was like a dream. I still remember the first time we met Ronaldo. He is so charismatic — even while he was walking towards the training ground, it looked like a ramp walk! We had a detailed conversation about various things and he said he is a huge fan of Premier Futsal. Watching the match at the Santiago Bernebeu (Real Madrid’s stadium) was a surreal experience. We even got a chance to visit their training ground.”

Surprises for the next edition
“Even we didn’t realise the reach the tournament got — Gareth Bale, Neymar and Zidane are huge followers of our tournament and even the Malaysian prince said that he watched Premier Futsal. We are only pumped up to make the second edition even bigger,” says Dinesh. Abhinandan assures that we can expect a lot of surprises in the forthcoming edition. “The second edition will also be held in India and almost all the legends will be retained. As for the other superstars that we will be roping in, you have to just wait and watch!”