In seventh heaven
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Why isn’t Kerala anymore a major force in Indian football? Why do our venues get occupied with emptiness?
These two questions bring us to the Municipal Stadium in Kakkanad, where a Sevens Premier League has kicked off.
Under the beaming floodlights as dribbling feet make merry on the turf and the crowd cheering an advancing attacker, a ‘few good men’ who lived and loved the game when it was a popular sport, are happy; the game isn’t dead, after all.
Former international goal keeper Victor Manjila, Olympian O. Chandrasekharan and C. C. Jacob were public icons of their era and even now, old timers repeatedly mention their names with great pride.
They along with other veteran players were present at the inauguration of the SPL and though the tournament isn’t recognised by the Kerala Football Association the legends have just reasons to offer their support to it.
“As a footballer what I cherished was the opportunity to play. In the early 70s I used to play 7s, but I stopped doing it after joining the Premier Tyres, because there were plenty of tournament we played those days,” said Victor.
“A footballer has to keep playing, and that is what his life is for. But these days are there any tourneys? It feels good to see the sevens tourneys, and it is not in protest to the KFA, but just the pure desire to see football continue rolling,” he said.
C. C. Jacob was never going to have a difference of opinion and he says there are issues in sevens which needs to be addressed. Safety of players and fair officiating and so on, but I believe, in any format, football is the same – people love it, he said.
Sebin, organising manager of SPL said there are numerous foreign players in the tourney. Even popular faces like N.P. Pradeep and other former Santosh Trophy players are expected to line-up for the tournament.
I.M. Vijayan, who was expected to play for a Thrissur team won’t be playing in the first match due to personal reasons, but is expected to enter the dungeon in the coming weeks.
“During our days, the public knew the players and teams in and out, but these days there is a disturbing obscurity associated with the game. Only way to change it is by organising more tourneys, be is sevens of 11s, let there be no discrimination,” Victor sums up.
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