Neymar Jr.’s Five to arrive in Gurgaon on March 10

A total of 18 teams from 12 cities will play out the Indian champions of the Red Bull organised Neymar Jr’s Five on March 10 at the CyberHub in Gurgaon with one from those teams qualifying for the world final in Brazil later this year.

The Indian National Qualifiers of Neymar Jr’s Five will see 18 teams from 12 cities from across country in the corporate (6 teams) and city section (12 teams) compete to finally represent India in the World Finals.

The Neymar Jr.’s Five is one of the most popular five-a-side tournaments in the world and has an outreach of 47 countries, which are spread across six continents.

Young footballers and the sport’s aficionados from all over the country will descend into Gurgaon to witness what promises to be a festival of elasticos, step-overs and Pogdabs. 

It attracts football talent from around the globe in a format that combines skill, finesse, flair, thrills and entertainment. As far as this edition of the tournament is concerned, qualifications for the national finals in India were held during the second half of 2016.

Brazil and Barcelona superstar Neymar Jr., who is on his way to becoming one of the greatest footballers of all time, spoke about how one should always enjoy the game, irrespective of the result. “The advice I’d give [the countries that are participating] is to be happy, no matter the result, no matter how hard it is. I hope they can have fun with Neymar Jr’s Five, because this is the most important – be happy, have fun and I wish them all the best again,” he said. 

After the Dream Team from Bangalore became the Winning 5 in the first ever edition of Neymar Jr.’s Five qualifiers, the hype around the tournament had increased exponentially, garnering interesting in innumerable cities.

The qualifiers were divided into two categories, namely Corporate Leg and City Qualifiers, from which six and 12 teams, respectively, made it to the final 18. 

Qualifying stages saw some stunning football action, which spoke volumes about the quality of talent around the country. Players from around the country, channelizing their inner Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo, attempted to the audiences while trying to make their teams win.

Red Bull Neymar Jr.’s has received a tremendous response and the finals in Gurgaon are likely to see the success reach its zenith along with enthralling fans who turn up. 
Apart from it being a really exciting football tournament with a lot of talent on display, Neymar Jr.’s Five has shown how popular the sport has become in the country.

Also, the Five-a-Side format is a great advertisement for the sport, making it popular across India. The past decade has been great for the progress of Indian football and more people are following it.

Neymar Jr.’s Five tournament is a symbol of India’s growing love for football and come 10th March in Gurgaon, we are set to see a manifestation of the same. 

The winning team will play at the Instituto Projecto Neymar Jr, Paia Grande in Brazil against the other finalists from all over the world. So join the teams on Friday, March 10 at CyberHub in Gurgaon for some of the best five-a-side football in the country and cheer on your favourite team to victory.

Check out the teams that have qualified below: