After the gap of a decade, the Kerala Police Football Team will battle it out once again to restore lost glory.
It will take part in the Dronacharya Navy Cup to be held in Fort Kochi next month. The team was revived about eight months ago.
Kerala Police team was once the backbone of Kerala football and produced an array of talented players including V.P. Sathyan, C.V. Pappachan, and I.M.Vijayan.
The team was not only the powerhouse of Kerala football but also a force to reckon with at the national level. But the team was wound up by the police department.
“The revamp of the team will be a major encouragement for Kerala football. We want to revive the golden era and produce more talent in the coming years,” said Pappachan, the present trainer of the team.
The 20-member team has been practising at the Kerala Police Academy in Thrissur for the last eight months. “About one year ago, we conducted selection trials and the response was good. From the camp, we selected 20 players who are being trained at the academy,” he said.
The diligent and strict training of the police team members would bring results when they start their campaign in Kochi next year, hopes Pappachan.
“The team is in its infancy. We must have more matches and tournaments to become an experienced one. Whatever the result is, it will be a great moment for Kerala football,” he said.
The players were picked from several professional clubs and university teams in the State. Pappachan thinks it will be 3 or 4 years before the team can turn heads.
“When we started in 1984, it took three to four years to get on track. Then most of the players excelled nationally and internationally. I expect the same with the current team,” he said.
Pappachan says several players have already benefited from the training. “When we started it was an unorganised set of players picked from various teams across the state. But now things have changed and we hope for the best,” he said.