The December weather in Northern Kerala is humid and soakingly sizzling. Askar Vandithodi, an IT official by profession and loyal fan of football and Argentina icon Lionel Messi, and friends race in the evening to attend a peculiar Kerala version of football.
Loud announcement is heard from afar. Aromatic smell of freshly cooked fritters wafts in the air. All passages to the make-shift stadium are decorated with life-size posters of rival teams and players. People throng in large numbers at the entrance to the stadium, frenzied emotions writ large on their faces and in their brisk strides. Bulky loudspeakers blare rousing announcements, punctuated with local music and film beats.
The gallery is filled to the brim and spectators are hooting and cheering on incessantly. Mud football ground in the middle is recently manicured and marked with fresh chalk powder. Here, two teams with seven-players-one-side are sweating out to ram through defences and score goals.
Come November every year. This is the scene from Tirurangadi Football Mini Stadium in Malappuram district, marking the beginning of football rage in Kerala.
After three years of Covid-induced shutdown, Sevens Football is back to ubiquitous vigour in Kerala from 2023.
Innovative, indigenous sports format
Northern parts of Kerala, known as Malabar region, are well known for their football mania. Developed as anti-colonial resistance, the sports still pervade the minds and the space of the region.
Sevens Football is locally called ‘Floodlight Football’ because the match is often conducted at night. This football format is an ingenious innovation to suit the geographical and sports needs of the people. This style of football is conveniently modified according to local needs.
(photo: players before the start of a match)
Sevens Tournaments have specific rules and regulations and are governed by Sevens Football Association. Currently, the body is helmed by K.M Lenin and Super Ashraf as president and secretary respectively, along with separate district committees.
Seven-people strong rivals compete with each other, to reach the knock-out stage and to semi-final and final.
This trimmed version of football is not FIFA-approved nor recognized by the All India Football Federation, the governing body of Football, Futsal and beach soccer in India.
According to Sevens Football Association website, around 50-60 Sevens Football tournaments are held every year in Kerala between November and April. Out of these, 15 to 20 tournaments are held under the banner of Sevens Football Association.
The tournament period starts by the end of the paddy harvest and will stretch into the onset of monsoon by June. Even though agriculture has lost its patrons in the region and only small tracts are cultivated, the timing of the tournaments is a nostalgic throwback to the agrarian connection Sevens has in Kerala.
Typical mud ground is 35-40 meters in width and 55-60 meters in length. Unlike professional football, offside trap rule is more lenient to give the matches attacking charm. One defender positions as mid-back while two side defenders prowl in the deep, assisting the striker and twin wingers mow over opponents.
(photo : scuffle during the match)
Along with legendary clubs, every year new clubs join the fray. Some clubs like Super Studio Malappuram, AL Madeena Cherppulessery, FIFA Manjeri, Black and White Kozhikode, Gym Khana Thrissur have more than three decades of annual presence, courting them die-hard fan base.
“Footfalls will be huge when teams like Real FC Thennala and Al Madeena Cherppulasseri play. These teams have traditional fanbase due to successive impressive runs in recent years”, said Asker Vandithodi.
Few Sevens Football tournaments have decades long history. Kaderali Sevens Football Tournament, conducted at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram district successfully completed its 51st edition this year. Koyappa Smaraka Sevens Football hosted at Koduvally in Kozhikode district is running its 38th edition this year.
The entire football festival is locally managed without any government support. Tournament committees are formed after deliberation and the local people wholeheartedly back the event from beginning to end.
The matches are not profit-oriented. Football for the sake of football and entertainment. Many tournaments are conducted to support palliative and charity efforts of the locality.
Tournaments are local festivals of harmony and recreation. Here, football seeped into the inner fabric of people, is a hereditary trait coursing through arteries of society and culture.
(photo: A scene from the match)
Religion and politics blur in the Sevens hysteria. “For the people of Kerala, especially in Malabar, football is a religion; phalanx of icons from Maradona and Pele to Neymar and Messy are the gods”, noted sports journalist Jaffer Khan in his book documenting football history in Malabar.
Football culture is intrinsically imbued within the everyday lives of North Kerala people. From sandy beaches and laterite quarries to splashy water bodies to verdant fields football is a conspicuous sight. In summer, football is played on rough terrains whereas monsoon ushers drenching mud football.
Trees sometimes double as goalpost markers, scattered bottles as football and school uniforms as jerseys. It is an emotional bond thriving from childhood with maternal pat to old age, changing the roles from player to spectator to sponsor. But the sheer excitement of chasing football or cheering on the players or dishing out money for sports never wavers.
For buffs like Bava Ashraf, popularly called as Super Bava after the football club he founded in Malappuram, football engulfs the whole life. Started as a ferocious central back in the 80s, Bava now runs Super Studio Malappuram Club, one of the most successful Sevens clubs in Kerala. In the running season, the club is second in total number of champion trophies.
(Photo: Latest tally of trophies won by clubs)
Seven Tournaments are local festivals with parallel economy. “Tournaments directly and indirectly employ a lot of people. Players, referees, gallery builders to live streamers to hawkers are part of this football grid. A fisherman or autorickshaw driver in the day, fastening laces in the night is a common sight here”, said Asker.
Furthermore, Sevens at night is relaxation. People after hard toil of the day, rush to the grounds to get carried away in the wizardry of football.
According to P.P Jihad, who manages a football team in Delhi named ‘Malabar Makhani’, the sheer physical intensity and swiftness of Sevens format captivate the people. He equated Elevens to test match, Nines to ODI and Sevens to Twenty20.
In Sevens, grounds are comparatively small and compact that brings players face to face and heel to heel. The matches are muscular and rough as players aggressively jostle forward, elbowing and thrusting opponents. The room for gentleman’s game is missing as the crammed space and pouncing players necessitate bellicose manoeuvring. Rabona moves and elegant flicks are replaced with adrenaline rush to shoot piercing volleys. “The aggression, physical dexterity and proximate connection with the audience are the major reason for the popularity of the game in Kerala”, added Jihad.
(Photo: injured player screaming)
He reasoned that people used to watch international football and its deftness naturally tends to patronize Sevens. This craze for physical football is reflection of every day football reality of the region.
Colonial genesis of Football rage
In Malabar, football kicked off a psychological resistance against colonialism. Author Jaffer Khan has documented Malabar’s tryst with Football in his book ‘Panthu Pathincha Malappuram Kissa’ (Malappuram Epic of Football). According to the book, football was introduced by the British in Malabar, when armed battalion of Malabar Special Police was raised in the 19th century to deal with rebellious native Mappilas. Mappilas were agrarian community predominantly living in North Kerala, part of the erstwhile Madras Presidency.
Watching the British play the game, some were inducted into the team as substitutes and rookies to balance the numbers of the teams. Awed by the intensity of game and cheap availability of sport gears, compared to polo and cricket, made football more popular.
After the devastating 1921 Mappila Rebellion, British employed the football to reach out to the aggrieved Mappila community, hostile towards the government for its violent reprisal of rebellion. According to eminent journalist and author V. Musaffar Ahmad, the British were successful in making inroads into the wounded minds through football diplomacy. And thus the steady growth of football.
From ball boys to formidable rivals, soon Malabar football advanced. Oldtimers still revel in the memories of homegrown barefoot team thrashing the British in the 1940s. Till recently, commemorating this feat, Barefoot Football Tournament was held at Hajiar Palli in Malappuram.
Early football legends belong to this time. Jinnu Moideen is remarkable among the pantheons. Due to his gaiety and flying nimbleness, he was given the monicker of Jinnu Moideen, as often associated with Jinns in Muslim lore.
Kanchirala Muhammedali is said to be the founder of first football club in Kerala. He founded Areekode School of Football, still famed for its football culture. Still, Therattammal village in Areekode has the distinction of the football village in Kerala.
“From childhood our life is woven around football. We run from the crack of dawn to ground and spend there until darkness shrouds us. Then we chat and squabble about football. People from all generations mingle easily in the magic of football here” boasted Nifad, a Gen Z from Therattammal village.
First recorded tournament was Kottappadi Moidu Memorial All Kerala Football Tournament held in 1952. From there to the present, football tournaments continue ceaselessly. “By the 90s Sevens Football achieved cult status. The changing economic condition due to gulf migration and technical advances made this format more alluring”, Super Bava remembers in one of his videos uploaded on YouTube.
Springboard for professional football career
Sevens Football is a prelude to professional football career. Many past and present players of professional football were part of this local football festival. I.M Vijayan, star of Indian football chiselled his skills as Sevens player for various teams, before making foray into national team. Former Indian players like U. Sharafali, Asif Saheer and Noushad started their careers in the rough terrains of Sevens Football.
VP Suhair, now representing East Bengal in Indian Super League, Anas Edathodiaka, now playing for India and I-League club Gokulam Kerala FC and Ashik Kuruniyan, winger for Indian national team and Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan SG are the products of Sevens Football.
Ashik Kurunian horned his skills in Sevens before proving his mettle in professional synthetic tracks. He vouched for the importance of Sevens Football career in his life in a video interview uploaded on official YouTube channel of Indian Super League. He highlighted two life lessons he learned from his life: to be fearless and muscular form of footballing.
(link to this interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8i67E4g3y8)
Sudani from Nigeria
Another major attraction of the game that draws many eyes and mints money at ticket counters is the glossy presence of foreign players, mainly from Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Senegal.
This continental sporting bond was immortalized in 2018 Malayalam movie ‘Sudani From Nigeria’. The movie grabbed many state and national awards including State’s Best Script Award and Best Feature Film in Malayalam in 2018 National Film Awards.
Players are scouted through agents and brought into Kerala on contracts. Some players are successful enough to carve out an everlasting niche in the lingering public football memory. Suhaib Hamza from Mannarkkad fondly remembered his childhood heroes of Francis and Junior Francis who had dreamy run between 2012 and 2018, playing for FIFA Manjeri.
According to Sevens Football Association rules only three foreign players can play in a match. In this season Ballack and Samuel of Super Studio, Ismael and Bukker of Linsha Mannarkkad are the most glamorous players. “The playing prowess of foreign players adds romance to the events. Plus it also improves the overall quality of game” opined Asker, an ardent fan of Ballack.
According to him, in Kerala players from Africa are absolutely free from racist attacks, usual in the English Premier Leagues and Spanish Leagues. But, they are paid poorly and often pushed into injury-prone aggressive matches by managers, he rued.
Foreign players often complain the low quality of grounds and confusing rules. Recently Ballack was attacked by a referee and sustained injuries to his eyes. He took out his frustration of poor refereeing in social media, causing controversies in footballing circles.
In dire need of overhaul
Without government support and recognition by football associations, Sevens Football is in dire need of critical interventions. Infrastructural woes are to be addressed for football culture to thrive seamlessly. Makeshift stadiums have to be converted stadiums.
“Football grows not seasonally. To have a vibrant football culture permanent stadiums are necessary. Around such stadiums, coaching academies could be opened to professionally train coming generations,” said Jihad.
The demand for Sevens Football is not yet entertained by governing bodies. Lack of uniformity in rules and regulation causes complexity and often leads to mass fights. Rising public brawls among the supporters of rival teams are serious concern for public law and order.
Still, Sevens is the exclusive space of males, frowning the presence of women in galleries. Although some changes are visible through increasing number of women spectators, this sport is still patriarchal entertainment as games are muscular. Tournaments could be made gender-neutral if adequate facilities are provided for women.
(photo : women greeting players at Koyappa Tournament, Koduvally)
Sevens follows Malayali diaspora everywhere. The game is popular among the Delhi Malayali community and around five tournaments are held annually. Gulf counties are now thriving new turfs of Sevens football.
As Euro Cup and Latin American Copa tournaments are around the corner, this Sevens season is expected to be more entertaining.