HYDERABAD: In 2021, as the pandemic erased jobs and stability for thousands, former footballer Muhammad Mannan Ullah Khan saw a crisis far bigger than any match he had played. He shut down his football academy and rewrote his life’s game plan — one that today translates into three to four job fairs every month, changing lives without charging a single rupee.
Even years after the pandemic, many young people, especially from marginalised communities, continue to struggle for stable employment. Determined to help them stand on their own feet, the 36-year-old former footballer chose to step away from his sporting career and focus entirely on organising free job melas, a mission he has pursued for the past five years.
Service, he tells TNIE, runs in the family. Mannan follows the footsteps of his father, Muhammad Zafar Ullah Khan, who helped many secure jobs in the postal department. So far, Mannan has facilitated employment for nearly 30,000 youths across India and organised over 150 job fairs. While most participants are from the two Telugu states, young jobseekers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha have also approached him.
A wide range of employers take part in these fairs, spanning IT and ITeS firms, financial institutions, security services and healthcare organisations. Companies such as Genpact, Apollo Pharmacy, MedPlus, Force Motors, GMR Group, Mahaveer Group of Companies, Tata Electronics and Medicover Hospital are among those that have recruited candidates through his initiatives.
Mannan organises job fairs three to four times every month, never charging either jobseekers or recruiters.
Recalling the turning point, he says: “In 2021, due to the pandemic, many people lost their jobs and many more were struggling to find work. At that time, I was at the peak of my football career. I had played several district- and state-level matches and was running a football academy in Golconda. But seeing the plight of so many youths, I shut down the academy and decided to help them by organising job melas.”
He added that the scale of the initiative has grown steadily. “In the initial days, we could provide jobs to around 50 people. Now, at every mela, we try to place nearly 300 candidates. Even if someone is not selected at one fair, we enrol them for the next one so that they eventually get placed.”
Job fairs have been organised at several locations across the city. Mannan credits the effort’s success to the support of like-minded people who step forward with resources. “To organise a job mela, we need a ground or a hall. Many people have come forward and offered their spaces free of cost. Several of the job fairs have been held at Red Rose Palace,” he says.
His goal, he insists, is simple and unwavering. “My main aim is to help young people get jobs so that they can live with dignity.”