All India Football Federation’s Hero Futsal Club Championship kicks off on February 8th

The Hero Futsal Club Championship 2022-23 draw was conducted at the Football House in New Delhi on Monday, January 30, 2023, in the presence of AIFF Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran, Treasurer Mr. Kipa Ajay, and Director Competitions Mr. Anil Kamat.

In total, 14 teams are set to participate in the Hero Futsal Club Championship, which is set to be held from February 8 to February 19 at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.

Twelve out of the 14 participating teams are their respective state champions, while Delhi FC and Bengaluru FC make up the final two, by dint of finishing as champions and in the semi-finals, respectively, of the 2021-22 edition of the competition.

Hero Futsal Club Championship 2022-23 draw conducted at the Football House in New Delhi, Monday, January 30, 2023

Dr Prabhakaran, before the commencement of the draw, said, “I wish to convey my best wishes to all the teams who will be participating in the Hero Futsal Club Championship. I am sure they will have a great competition, and with their participation, futsal can grow in popularity, and more will join the sport. A massive thanks to all the clubs for their help and support in helping us grow futsal in India. I am sure with everyone’s cooperation we can develop a high-level futsal structure in India.”

On December 5, at the All India Football Federation’s Futsal Committee Meeting, chaired by Mr. Vijay Bali, the Committee Chairman said, “Futsal will play a very important role in the development of the game in India, and I am sure that this Committee will take proactive measures to help grow the sport across the country,” said Dr. Prabhakaran. “This Committee will be fully empowered with strategies and policies to enlarge operations in India. Going forward, we would also love to see the National Team compete in international tournaments as well.”

The Committee recommended that the AIFF should nominate the champions of the 2022-23 season to play in the AFC Futsal Club Championship and that it sends scouts to the HFCC to find possible players for its National Team, which would also take part in the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers in October 2023.

In order to scout a larger number of players for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Qualifiers, the Committee recommended that the 2023-24 edition of the championship be held early in the season during the monsoon, as the weather is unlikely to affect an indoor sport.

The Secretary-General also mentioned that the AIFF plans to invite experts from FIFA and the AFC to help improve the game for the future.

“We are in talks with FIFA and AFC to help in capacity-building workshops for our Member Associations so that they would also be in a better place to grow futsal in the future,” said Dr. Prabhakaran. “We want an overall development in futsal – both men’s and women’s.”

The Hero Futsal Club Championship games will be streamed live on the AIFF YouTube Channel and the Groups are as follows but you can download a pdf version by clicking on schedule:

Group A: Delhi FC, Bengaluru FC, Sports Odisha, Dzawo FC, Techtro Swades United FC, Electric Veng Futsal Club, Speed Force FC.

Group B: Mohammedan SC, BPSS FC, Capital Complex FC, Minerva Academy FC, Goal Hunterz FC, Aphuyemi FC, Juggernaut FC.

Fixtures:

Group A:

February 8: Delhi FC vs Bengaluru FC, 5 PM IST
February 8: Sports Odisha vs Speed Force FC, 7.30 PM IST

February 9: Dzawo FC vs Electric Veng Futsal Club, 9.30 AM IST
February 9: Bengaluru FC vs Speed Force FC, 7.30 PM IST
February 10: Sports Odisha vs Electric Veng FC, 9.30 AM IST
February 10: Dzawo FC vs Techtro Swades United FC, 12 noon IST

February 11: Delhi FC vs Sports Odisha, 9.30 AM IST
February 11: Dzawo FC vs Speed Force FC, 12 noon IST
February 11: Techtro Swades United FC vs Electric Veng FC, 2.30 PM IST
February 12: Delhi FC vs Dzawo FC, 12 noon IST
February 12: Bengaluru FC vs Sports Odisha, 2.30 PM IST
February 12: Techtro Swades United FC vs Speed Force FC, 5 PM IST
February 13: Bengaluru FC vs Dzawo FC, 2.30 PM IST
February 13: Delhi FC vs Techtro Swades United FC, 5 PM IST
February 13: Electric Veng FC vs Speed Force FC, 7.30 PM IST
February 14: Delhi FC vs Electric Veng FC, 5 PM IST
February 14: Bengaluru FC vs Techtro Swades United FC, 7.30 PM IST
February 15: Sports Odisha vs Dzawo FC, 9.30 AM IST
February 15: Delhi FC vs Speed Force FC, 7.30 PM IST
February 16: Bengaluru FC vs Electric Veng FC, 9.30 AM IST
February 16: Sports Odisha vs Techtro Swades United FC, 12 noon IST

Group B:

February 9: Mohammedan SC vs BPSS FC, 12 noon IST
February 9: Capital Complex FC vs Juggernaut FC, 2.30 PM IST
February 9: Minerva Academy FC vs Aphuyemi FC, 5 PM IST
February 10: BPSS FC vs Juggernaut FC, 2.30 PM IST
February 10: Capital Complex FC vs Aphuyemi FC, 5 PM IST
February 10: Minerva Academy FC vs Goal Hunterz FC, 7.30 PM IST
February 11: Mohammedan SC vs Capital Complex FC, 5 PM IST
February 11: Minerva Academy FC vs Juggernaut FC, 7.30 PM IST
February 12: Goal Hunterz FC vs Aphuyemi FC, 9.30 AM IST
February 12: Mohammedan SC vs Minerva Academy FC, 7.30 PM IST
February 13: BPSS FC vs Capital Complex FC, 9.30 AM IST
February 13: Goal Hunterz FC vs Juggernaut FC, 12 noon IST
February 14: BPSS FC vs Minerva Academy, 9.30 AM IST
February 14: Mohammedan SC vs Goal Hunterz FC, 12 noon IST
February 14: Aphuyemi FC vs Juggernaut FC, 2.30 PM IST
February 15: Mohammedan SC vs Aphuyemi FC, 12 noon IST
February 15: BPSS FC vs Goal Hunterz FC, 2.30 PM IST
February 15: Capital Complex FC vs Minerva Academy FC, 5 PM IST
February 16: Mohammedan SC vs Juggernaut FC, 2.30 PM IST
February 16: BPSS FC vs Aphuyemi FC, 5 PM IST
February 16: Capital Complex FC vs Goal Hunterz FC, 7.30 PM IST

Semi-finals:

February 18: Group A1 vs Group B2, 5 PM IST
February 18: Group A2 vs Group B1, 7.30 PM IST

Final:
February 19: Semi-final 1 Winners vs Semi-final 2 Winners, 7.30 PM IST

The final of the 2021-22 edition was watched via their YouTube Channel by over 63,000, you can watch it below: