Courtesy: Indian Express


City gets India’s first futsal arena

Tue Feb 21 2012

If you’re a football fan and have peered over the Gaikwad petrol pump in Mundhwa during the last few days, you might have imagined you are looking at a mirage — three floodlit carpets of synthetic turf, hosting intense games of five-a-side.

The HotFut Futsal Arena, formally launched on Sunday, is India’s first facility dedicated to futsal. For the uninitiated, futsal is the FIFA-recognised version of five-a-side, usually played indoors with a smaller ball.

As early as six months ago, the arena was just an idea, germinating in the minds of Pavit Singh and Nikhil Dubois, football-mad Puneites. “We’ve known each other since school, and we’ve regularly played football on Sundays,” says Singh. “One day, it struck us, someone should do something like this.”

They got to work, investing mostly out of their own pockets (it helped that both were part of family businesses in the manufacturing sector) to get everything in place — the FIFA 2-star rated artificial turf, the floodlights, the cage netting separating the three pitches and other facilities including changing rooms, showers and refreshment counters.

Now, any football nut with a group of friends can play. “Anyone can call up and book in advance,” says Singh. “It generally costs around Rs 1,000 an hour during the morning, Rs 1,500 in the evening and Rs 2,000 at night. It works out to about Rs 100 per head. We’re looking at paying back our initial investment over four years.”

The response has been almost instantaenous. “We already have about 50 people who book in advance and come to play. We’ve had requests from people to book it for the whole year. After playing on uneven grounds all their lives, they’re excited by this,” says Singh. “Corporates have come to us, saying they’ll conduct lunch-interval leagues, with 15-minute games. It’s a great idea, because it’s a really intense sport.”

The duo plans for the facility go beyond recreational use, and tap into the idea that playing futsal promotes speedy development of footballing technique.

“It’s a fast-paced game, and helps players develop skills,” says Singh. “Some Pune-based former players and coaches use the facility for coaching. We’re planning to tie up with NGOs like Rashtriya Life Saving Society India (RLSSI) and Magic Bus for coaching camps for underprivileged kids. By April 1, we plan to have the first batch of our academy, for which we’ve tied up with School Sports Program (SSP) and a couple of other people.”




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com