MALAPPURAM: The people of Malappuram and Brazil share the same passion for football. The major difference is, in Latin American countries the passion gets translated into action, rolling out world class players in the process, whereas the football talents in Malappuram languish in local seven’s football.
The Malappuram district administration under the aegis of District Collector K Biju has taken a brave step to put an end to this scenario and help shape real talents in the district with the support of District Sports Council and Football Association. Malabar Premier League (MPL), starting this Saturday, is launched with an objective to unearth the football talents in the district and groom them for the big stage. It is reportedly the first of its kind effort from the side of a district administration in the country.
“The huge number of Malappuram players involved in the seven’s tournaments is a testimony to the raw football talents in the district. Though the district harbours huge potential, there is no platform for the players to showcase their talents. With the introduction of Indian Super League (ISL), football is gaining momentum in terms of popularity and acceptance across the country. Malappuram has the capacity to weigh in with a good chunk of talents to represent the country. One of the main aims of the tournament is to identify such talents”, said District Collector K Biju.
A few decades back, players from Malabar populated the Indian line up. Currently, there is not even one player from Kerala in the national team. The decline in the number of grounds is cited as one of the major reasons. “We have couple of standard grounds in the district at present and a few are in the making. The footballers can utilise these facilities to work on their skills. We have given a proposal to the Central Government to start a football academy based at Manjeri Sports Complex Stadium. We are planning to train the players through this residential academy equipped with all international standard facilities,” the District Collector added.
There are eight teams playing in the first edition of the tournament representing different parts of the district. The organisers have plans to include more teams from next year. “It takes a lot of tournaments for a player to develop his talent. The district now has only few tournaments. The number of clubs has also declined in the district. MPL is a good initiative in such regard,” former national footballer Malappuram Asees said.
The business community in the district has shown an interest in the venture. Nine firms, one main sponsor and eight team sponsors, are backing the tournament. I M Vijayan is the brand ambassador. The final of MPL will be held on April 28.