Soccer
Neymar Jr’s Five to visit more Indian cities in 2018
A total of 14 city qualifiers will be held in India for Neymar Jr’s Five 2018, the five-a-side football tournament. Qualifiers will be held in January and February, with the India Finals in March.
The biggest five-a-side football tournament to take place in India is back.
Neymar Jr’s Five, a globally established five-on-five football tournament, will kick off in India in January with city qualifiers being held in 14 cities across the country. The winning teams from the city qualifiers will then compete at the India Finals in March 2018 for a chance to make it to the Neymar Jr’s Five 2018 World Finals in Brazil in July.
The winner of the World Finals stands a chance to play a match against Neymar Jr and his friends. Last year, Hyderabad Sporting FC were crowned champions from among 2000 Indian teams over 12 cities to participate in the fast-paced tournament. The Hyderabad-based team competed against the best in the world at Instituto Projeto Neymar Jr in Praia Grande, Brazil.
Hyderabad Sporting FC, winners of Neymar Jr's Five 2017 National Finals
© Ali Bharmal | Red Bull Content Pool
Tao United of Romania were eventually crowned world champions of 2017, winning the opportunity to play a best-of-three friendlies against Neymar Jr, Gabriel Jesus, Djibril Cissé, and others. The Romanian team was also invited to visit Neymar Jr at Paris Saint-Germain’s training ground.
India city qualifiers for Neymar Jr’s Five 2018:
- 13th January: Aizawl
- 20th and 21st January: Mumbai and Pune
- 21st January: Guwahati and Delhi
- 27th and 28th January: Chandigarh
- 28th January: Goa
- 30th January: Shillong
- 10th and 11th February: Kochi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru
- 11th February: Ahemdabad and Kolkata
- 17th and 18th February: Chennai
The match format in the tournament is quick and challenging. Two teams of five players, sans a goalkeeper, play a game of 10 minutes. The twist in the format is that for each goal scored by a team, a member of the opposition team will have to leave the field. The winner is the team with most players on the field after 10 minutes, or if all players of the opposition team are eliminated. If both teams score equal number of goals, or if no goals are scored, the match is drawn.
The tournament allows amateur footballers to showcase their talent in front of renowned players. The concept stems from Neymar Jr’s experience from playing on the streets of Praia Grande as a young boy, to dazzling audiences in the biggest stadiums around the world as one of the best players of recent times. It was only fitting that Neymar Jr’s institute, built on the same streets he honed his talent as a young player, served as the venue for the finals in 2017.
The tournament is open to teams of five to seven players aged 16 to 25, with two players over 25 allowed in the squad. Visit http://www.neymarjrsfive.com for more information and a chance to register your team to play in Neymar Jr’s Five 2018.