It was the beginning of 2020 and the Khelo India University Games football tournament’s final match was underway in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The event, conducted by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports saw the Kerala University football team defeat the strong team from Punjab University, to become champions. A unique characteristic of the Kerala team was that more than half their players were from the Thiruvananthapuram coastal belt. However, over the last year, things have changed drastically. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread through the region, and rising poverty as a result has forced many young footballers to quit their dreams and return to their ancestral profession of fishing.
The Thiruvananthapuram coastal belt has contributed several skillful football players to the state and national levels. Michael Soosairaj from south Thiruvananthapuram and Joby Justin from the northern belt are part of the current Indian national team. Along with Britto PM from Pozhiyoor, all three are also players in the Indian Super League. Rajesh Soosanayakam, who was part of the Indian Railways team in the USIC Football Final, a tournament organised by the International Railway Sports Association in France, and Ebin Raj, who was selected for the under-16 Indian national team, both hail from Pozhiyoor fishing village. In 2018, when Kerala managed to win the Santosh Trophy, it was thanks to a winning goal by Seesan Selvan, who also hails from the same region. In fact, the fishing hamlet of Pozhiyoor is also referred to as ‘Santosh Trophy Village’, due to the number of players who made it to the tournament from here.
With the pandemic, the tides have changed for many aspiring players in the region, forcing most of them to choose between their love for the sport and their livelihood. “I love football very much, I am a Kylian Mbappe (French footballer) fan. A few years ago, I joined a football academy in my village. Last year, everything shut. My mother asked me to help out with the family and so now, I am fishing with my uncle,” says Daniel, a plus one student from Poovar. He says that his parents have no means to help him develop his skills without an academy, personal practice equipment, space, or even a football, during an unprecedented pandemic and lockdown.
This is the story of many people in the region, according to LiFFA Trivandrum, a district football academy in Kerala working mainly with coastal youth. The academy says that more than 2,500 young players are getting limited practice opportunities from their local football academies due to the ongoing pandemic. Many players, who are students, are also struggling with their education and their sports career. “I am not good at studies but my sports ability helped me pass in school. Now, I am in the final year of my undergraduate course, but all my hopes are ruined. Not a single university tournament has been conducted yet after easing of restrictions. We were the runners-up of a 2018 inter-college tournament. This year, we had a good team, but everything was wasted. We don’t know what to do now,” said Pradeep, a student of St Xavier’s College, Thumba, which usually forms a college football team that consists of 80% of students from the coastal region.
“Players coming from fishing villages have good power and spirit. From their childhood, they play on the beach and the sand, which improves their calf and thigh muscles. If we offer them systematic practice, they can grow and show international potential not only in football but in any sport,” says George Thomas, a retired physical education coach, who has around 37 years of experience in coaching athletes. He was a former Head of Department at St Xavier’s College, Thumba.
Players and other stakeholders allege that the Union and Kerala governments have not conducted any football tournaments since the last season of the Indian Super League (November 20, 2020, to March 13, 2020), even though cases have now come down and lockdown restrictions have eased. Many players say that they are proud of being fishermen or hailing from a fishermen's family, but hope that the government encourages them and provides the necessary support for them to pursue football. They point to the Union government’s ‘Khelo India’ motto, which says, “The importance of sports and fitness in one’s life is invaluable. Playing sports inculcates team spirit and develops strategic thinking, analytical thinking, leadership skills, goal setting, and risk-taking. A fit and healthy individual leads to an equally healthy society and a strong nation. Sports is an extremely important component for the overall development of our nation…”
They urge authorities to develop new plans and projects and list their demands like special care for players’ fitness after lockdown and conducting required trials and tournaments, besides supporting private football academies working in the coastal region, to help their players. “The pandemic is just unveiling how much priority is being given to footballers from marginalised communities. Many footballers have been forced to choose fishing or other minimum wage jobs as they have to earn their livelihood and no one is caring for them. We are just witnessing a young and talented generation’s future collapsing in front of us helplessly,” says Reegan Alex, founding member of LiFFA and a key member of SBFA Poovar football academy, which has coached many football players who made it big.