MALAPPURAM: Footballer Jamsheena Uruniyanparambil is no stranger to competitions, having played in panchayat and state level tournaments since she was in school.Now, the 25-year-old is set to make her political debut.
She is contesting from Kalambadi (ward 13) of Malappuram municipality as an LDF candidate in the local body elections. Her father-in-law Majeed Uruniyanparambil is the sitting councillor of the ward, which has been reserved for women this year. She filed her nomination on Monday.
“My father-in-law introduced several development projects in the ward. I want to complete them, including the river protection and road development works, and introduce more projects,” she said. She is also banking on Malappuram’s love for football to emerge victorious.
“People of Malappuram love football and I believe they will accept a football player as their leader. The first round of my door-to-door campaigning is over and I will go ahead with other rounds,” she said.
Jamsheena was selected in the panchayat football team when she was in Class 6. After class 12, she was picked up by the Kerala State Sports Council. She has played for the state women’s team for seven years and the MG University team for five years.
She also represented Kerala in the national games held here in 2015 and was named the best woman footballer by Kerala Football Association in 2016. The daughter of Vallikkunu natives Siddique and Jameela, Jamsheena married Shameemsad two years ago.