MALAPPURAM: As football mania reaches fever pitch ahead of the World Cup, fans across Malabar are once again turning their passion into a spectacle of unprecedented proportions. Supporters of Brazil, Argentina and Portugal are locked in a friendly yet intense rivalry, to erect the largest flex boards and towering cut-outs of their footballing icons.
The latest chapter is unfolding in Munda, near Nilambur, where enthusiasts of Brazil and Argentina have transformed a local challenge into a battle for global bragging rights.
Brazil supporters recently installed a 400-foot-long flex board, daring Argentina fans to outdo them. The challenge was swiftly accepted. The rival supporters responded with a colossal 666-foot-long banner, which they claim is the longest football-themed flex display in the world.
The installation has attracted widespread attention on social media and among football enthusiasts. According to fans, this year’s flex-board rivalry began in Kongad, Palakkad, where Argentina supporters erected a 160-foot-long display. “That sparked the competition,” said Jabin Lukman, a member of Munda Brazil Fans Association. “The Argentina backers announced plans to install a 300-foot-long flex and claimed it would be the biggest in the world. We decided to go bigger. We completed the installation on Tuesday,” he said.
Argentina supporters, however, had bigger plans. “We were supposed to install our flex board several days ago,” said Jensil Jaan, a local fan. “But when Brazil supporters announced a larger display, we decided to wait. We wanted to ensure that no one would surpass us. That is why we installed a 666-foot-long flex board,” he said.
Fans raise lakhs to put up flex boards and cut-outs
“We believe it will be difficult for anyone to break this record,” he said.
While the rivalry in Malappuram is being fought with flex boards, football fever in Kozhikode has taken on a different form. At Ambalakkandi in Omassery, a paddy field has been transformed into an open-air gallery of giant cut-outs celebrating some of the game’s biggest stars.
The spectacle began when Portugal fans installed a 28-foot-tall cut-out of Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday and challenged rivals to surpass it. Brazil fans responded within a day by erecting a 40-foot cut-out of Neymar Jr. Argentina supporters soon joined the contest, unveiling a 30-foot cut-out of Lionel Messi on Wednesday.
The result is a striking display featuring three global stars standing tall amid the paddy fields, drawing both visitors and social media attention. “Even though the tournament will be held in North America, the excitement is very much alive here in Kerala. We may be friends and relatives off the field, but when it comes to football, everyone wants their team to be No 1,” said Arafath A R S, a Brazil supporter from Omassery.
The scale of the rivalry is reflected not only in the size of the displays but also in the money spent on them. Munda’s Brazil flex board reportedly cost around `1.5 lakh, while the version backing Argentina is estimated to have put fans back nearly `3 lakh. “We raised the money from fans in Munda. Our friends working abroad also contributed. For us, being the best is what matters,” said Jensil Jaan, an Argentina supporter. The competition has also come at a considerable cost to Kozhikode, where the giant cut-outs have become a major attraction. Fans estimate that each installation, including the cut-outs of Ronaldo, Neymar and Messi, cost between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000.