THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The German and Spanish football teams locked horns at St Antony’s Church Ground in Valiyathura beach here on Monday with Germany coming out of the crucial encounter with a comfortable 5-3 victory.
Do not get confused, for it wasn’t Mesut Ozil or Andres Iniesta who pulled the strings for their sides in this match. Rather it was Shaiju and Bibin, fans of these two sides, who went against each other in the league-cum-knock out tournament organised by the Valiyathura Football Academy (VFA).
Valiyathura has been a breeding ground for football in the state and ever since the 1970s, it has been the Valiyathura Football Academy that has been at the helm of footballing affairs in this coastal village.
The academy has been a steady conveyor belt for the Kerala state team as well as the national football team over the past few decades with local boys like Shaiju Mon and Othallo Tabia recently and Xavier M F and Edison in the past coming through their ranks.
But with the World Cup frenzy taking over at the beaches, the Valiyathura FA are also dipping their feet in it.
“The aim of the tournament is to give the local boys a good platform to play. As the matches are held simultaneously during the World Cup, we get a lot of spectators that is an added advantage,” Tabia, a player of Pune FC in I-League, said.
Around 80 young footballers from the coastal area currently train under VFA with former Santosh Trophy and Travancore Titanium player A Mohammed Salim.
The training - held in three batches of under-10, under-14 and aunder-16 players - are carried out five days a week with the exception of Sundays and Tuesdays. Valiyathura FA secretary Jude Antony and former Services player Steran also help out in the training.
“We are not an academy, but a community of football lovers in the area,” said Jude.
“The tournament also gives our boys a chance to shine. We have a few of our lads among the seniors in the Spanish side,” said Salim watching the match from the sidelines.
The tournament features five teams comprising fans of World Cup nations - Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Portugal and Spain - with four teams qualifying for the semi-finals. The final is slated to be held on June 30 when the World Cup fever is expected to reach its peak. They are also planning to show matches on giant screens when that happens.