The KL World 5’s will be held at Stadium Negara, Malaysia’s first indoor stadium and a national heritage building. Futsal is a smaller version of soccer and is played by 10 players - five for each side indoors.

The KL World 5’s will have a total purse of $150,000, and feature 10 teams in the tournament. The event is expected to draw futsal fans from Malaysia and the region with the pedigree of the international teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England will join the likes of Asian champion Iran, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and hosts Malaysia in action.

ESS Asia MD Manu Sawhney says, “The KL World 5’s is the result of collaborative effort between ESPN Star Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to bring the best of the international sporting events to Malaysia. We share the Ministry of Youth and Sport’s vision and ambition to build a strong, long-term and active sporting culture in Malaysia and we are committed to work with the vision of developing premier sports events here.

“The tournament will offer Malaysian futsal fans an opportunity to watch top international teams in a festive atmosphere while cheering on their national team”.

Malaysia Datuk Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Azalina Othman said, “The arrival of this tournament is indeed a huge boost for the game, which is currently enjoying phenomenal growth in the country.

“As one of the first events to kick-off 2008, we’re proud to be working with a committed partner in ESPN Star Sports to develop marquee events. Futsal has become increasingly popular around the world and Malaysia has been enjoying phenomenal growth evident by the increasing number of futsal centres in Kuala Lumpur and urban areas throughout the country. The KL World 5’s is the perfect event to reinforce that growth for spectators and participants alike.”

ESS and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have a tradition of partnerships stemming from a multi-year strategic alliance signed in October 2005 to raise participation and interest in sport in Malaysia. This includes the successful staging of the last KL World 5’s futsal tournament in 2003, the Asian X Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2002-2004 and 2006, the broadcast of the new Malaysian edition of SportsCenter in April followed by the Guinness 9 Ball Tour in Genting Highlands in June this year.