Praful Patel unhappy over Virat Kohli as Premier Futsal League ambassador
AIFF president Praful Patel has raised questions over Virat Kohli’s role as brand ambassador of the Premier Futsal, a multi-national futsal league. This league is not recognised by AIFF, AFC or FIFA, and the AIFF had earlier released a strongly worded letter stating they did not sanction it.
Praful Patel has taken a strong stand against Kohli, the co-owner of FC Goa, after he agreed to be the brand ambassador for the league. According to goal.com, all owners of ISL clubs have to sign a participation agreement which requires them to seek permission or consult ISL before participating or engaging with any tournament in India. The ISL franchises were informed recently by the Governing Council not to be involved with Premier Futsal in any capacity.
The clubs, associations, and players under the aegis of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) have also been informed by the association to stay away from the league. FC Goa is a registered club with the Goa Football Association (GFA). It is up to the GFA to inform the club owners of AIFF’s directive and the consequences.
Premier Futsal had shot into prominence when Kohli was named the ambassador and then AR Rahman was roped in to compose the anthem. 2000 Ballon d’Or winner Luis Figo and ex-Barcelona and Chelsea star Deco are also part of the league.
The AIFF had also stated earlier that they shall come up with a Futsal League of their own along with their commercial and marketing partners, IMG-Reliance. IMG-Reliance is also the main partner of ISL.
Any brand Ambassador of an ISL franchise cannot do the same for a league not recognised by #AIFF or #FIFA
— Praful Patel (@praful_patel) June 18, 2016
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