KALINA RANGERS, EMERGE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS OF RED BULLNEYMAR JR’S FIVE 2021

by Arjun Bangde September 27, 2021

~ More than 2700 teams across 18 cities participated in the Global five-a-side tournament Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five

~ National Finals of the largest 5 a side football tournament in India took place at Ella Ground, Carambolim in Goa on 24^th September 2021~

~ Kalina Rangers earned the opportunity to represent the country at the World Finals in Qatar and meet Neymar Jr

25^th September 2021, India: Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five returned for its fifth year in India with more than 2700 teams participating in qualifiers across the country. The 2021 edition of the championship had qualifiers in 18 cities across India which took place through the months of August and September, with the winning team of each city qualifier competing at the National Final at Ella Ground, Carambolim in Goa on Friday 24^th September. The 4 teams which grabbed their spot in the semi-finals were Kalina Rangers from Goa, Sunny Boys from Pune, Black & White FC from Kochi and Zack FC from Delhi. In the semis, Kalina Rangers beat Black & White FC and Sunny Boys beat Zack FC Delhi (both 1-0). Goa city qualifier winning team, Kalina Rangers beat Pune city qualifier winning team Sunny Boys 2-0 in the final match to be declared the Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five India champions and earned the opportunity to compete in the world finals in Qatar, where they will get to meet superstar footballer Neymar Jr.

Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five is the Brazilian star’s signature five-a-side tournament bringing players aged 16 to 35 from all corners of the world together to celebrate their shared passion: football. It is a fast, technical and fun competition which sees two teams of five players, sans a goalkeeper, have 10 minutes to strut their stuff and win a chance to impress Neymar Jr. The twist in this thrilling affair is that for each goal scored by a team, a member of the opposition will have to leave the field. The team with the maximum players takes the spoils.

Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five 2019 India Champions, Kalina Rangers from Mumbai represented India at the World Finals in Brazil and gained valuable experience with a historic win against Hungary, who were eventually crowned winners of the tournament. Some members from this team are part of the 2021 national champion squad which will travel to Qatar to compete at the world finals of the 2021 edition.

Kalina Rangers (Winning Team) Members – Danish Khan, Melvin Barboza, Craig Dsouza, Johnson Dsilva, Scott Moraes, Dion Menezes and Clinton Dsouza

Match Report – Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five 2021 National Finals:

Semi Final 1:

Kalina Rangers (Goa) 1-0 Black & White FC (Kochi)

Semi Final 2:

Sunny Boys (Pune) 1-0 Zak FC (Delhi)

Final Match Result:

Kalina Rangers (Goa) 2-0 Sunny Boys (Pune)

Kalina Rangers representing Goa were declared the winners of Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five 2021 edition and will now represent India at the World Finals in Qatar later this year

Clinton Dsouza from Kalina Rangers, winning team member expressed his joy over winning the Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five 2021 National Finals, he said, “We are delighted to win the Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five 2021 National Finals. Even during challenging times, we have been practicing a lot before this tournament started as we know we have to play against some of the best 5-a-side teams in the finals. We would like to thank the energy drink giant Red Bull for tournaments like these that give wings to young and upcoming footballers in India. We are proud to represent India at the World Finals in Qatar and we hope to make our nation proud.”

Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five India Qualifier Schedule & Winning Teams:

Indore: 21st and 22nd August at Jogabonito by Futsal One won by Chirag United

Ahmedabad: 21st and 22nd August at JUGGERNAUT ARENA won by Aries FC

Jaipur: 21st and 22nd August at Sports Villa, Nirman Nagar won by Rajasthan Police

Bengaluru: 21st and 22nd August at Turf Park Koramangla won by Gunners FC

Lucknow: 27th August at Polo Ground, Le Martiniere College won Techtro A FC

Pune: 28th and 29th August at Hot Fut Koregaon Park won by Sunny Boys

Kolkata: 28th and 29th August at FD Block Park, Salt Lake won by Soccer 5

Chennai: 28th and 29th August at Tiki Taka, T Nagar won by Super 5s

Siliguri: 4th September at Level Up Turf, Jyoti Nagar won by Siliguri United FC

Mumbai: 4th and 5th September at Neville D’souza Turf (Bandra Reclamation) won by Mean Machine

Delhi: 4th and 5th September at Kicksal (Chattarpur) won by Zack FC

Hyderabad: 4th and 5th September at ASTRO PARK won by Team Hexa

Jalandhar: 4^th and 5^th September at Khalsa College, Mohyal Nagar won by Doaba Football Academy

Dimapur: 11th September at City Futsal, Orchid Grounds won by Spartan FC

Bhubaneswar: 11th and 12th September at KIIT UNIVERSITY won by Speed Force

Kochi: 11th and 12th September at ESPIRITO won by Black & White FC

Chandigarh: 11th and 12th September at Legacy Matters and Hi Score won by Stadium FC

Goa: 11th and 12th September at Play Goa, Caculo Mall won by Kalina Rangers

Also, it is a proud moment for India as Kerala Teenager, Shahzad Rafi and Bengaluru youngster, Abhinash Shanmugham are among the seven talented ballers from across the world who have been selected to form a special team at the 2021 Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five World Final in Qatar later this year. They were shortlisted from over a million entries and made the cut from final 33,000 videos from all over the world, clips of their tastiest tricks and skills over the last few months as they attempted to wow the judging panel. Entries came in from all corners of the globe as these gifted amateur players posted 60-second clips to their Instagram channel using the hashtag #outplaythemall. After hours spent viewing the footage, Neymar Jr and his fellow judges finally settled on their seven-strong squad.

For more information and video highlights of the national finals visit: https://www.redbull.com/in-en/events/red-bull-neymar-jrs-five-india-2021

CREDITS- RED BULL NEYMAR JR. MEDIA

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