Actor Rajkumar bags Bengaluru franchise of Premier Futsal

Kannada cinema's poster boy Puneeth Rajkumar has signed a long-term agreement with Premier Futsal to acquire it's Bengaluru franchise, it was announced on Monday.

The league, a five-a-side vibrant of football, will be hosted from July 15 to 26 to create awareness of futsal as a sport in India.

Premier Futsal will make India the first country in the world to host a multi-national All-Star Futsal tournament that brings the legends of football and futsal together.

The agreement, for an undisclosed sum, makes Bengaluru the third franchise to be sold after the youngest son of Rajkumar, Kannada cinema's most decorated actor picked up the Bengaluru 5's franchise.

"Bengaluru is consuming new sports with much curiosity. A fast paced sport like Futsal is certain to catch the imagination of the youth in Bengaluru," Rajkumar said.

"It is an honour to be a part of something that is happening for the first time in our country and I am certain the people from Bengaluru will come forth and support our venture to lead the Bengaluru franchise of Premier Futsal."

The Bengaluru franchise will be known as "Bengaluru 5s", similar to how the all the teams will be named in the inaugural edition.

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 iconic footballers like Paul Scholes, Michel Salgado and Deco to compete.

--IANS

ac/pur/vm