KOCHI: Kerala’s love affair with football has found a moment of history. Tahsin Mohammed Jamshid, who has roots in Kannur, has earned a place in Qatar’s 26-member squad for the FIFA World Cup. He has also become the first Malayali to make a World Cup team.
The 19-year-old, however, won’t be the only player with Indian heritage at the football gala. Nishan Velupillay, whose roots trace back to Tamil Nadu, will be representing Australia.
Born and raised in Qatar to parents from Malabar region, Tahsin was named in the final squad after figuring in the country’s probable list. He is also the first player of Indian origin to feature in the Qatar Stars League. He plays for Al-Duhail SC, the country’s oldest football team.
“Tahsin may be playing for Qatar, but Malabar’s aspirations run through his veins. His parents moved to Qatar in 1996. It was during an inter-school football tournament that he was first scouted,” said D Ravi Kumar, a veteran journalist who has covered the football scene in Qatar extensively.
Tahsin trained at Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence, which is globally renowned for its state-of-the-art facilities, and went on to represent Qatar at the Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 levels. “It is not common that players of different origin feature in a national side, but because of Tahsin’s exceptional talent, he was considered,” Ravi said.
Tahsin’s international debut came during the World Cup qualification campaign against Afghanistan. Though included in the squad against India, he did not feature in the match but later played in Qatar’s decisive final two qualification fixtures.
“The boy plays as winger. But under Julen Lopetegui, the head coach of Qatar, we may see him move into a more defined position in midfield,” Ravi said.
Tahsin is the second son of Hibasil Jamshid, a Thalassery (Kozhikode) native working as a chief accountant in Qatar, and Shyma.