Football has been an integral part of Mizoram since the British introduced the game here over a century ago. This millennium, the small northeastern state has become the cradle of football, producing a bunch of talented players.
Homemaker Fancy Khawlhring walks almost every day through roads meandering up and down from her home to a football field, chaperoning her seven-year-old son, Lorrain Ralte. It’s a routine that many young Mizo mothers follow, and they are often seen carrying bags stuffed with jerseys, shorts, cleated shoes and striped socks of their sons and daughters.
Lorrain scored six goals in the recent Naupang league for kids at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, which is perched on a hillside overlooking Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, an achingly beautiful hill state in cricket-crazy India’s football-mad Northeast.
Every Mizo youngster dreams about becoming a football player and one day being called up to play for the national team.
“He is passionate about the game. So are we. I want him to play for Mizoram and his country,” said Khawlhring.
The fervour for football is felt deeply in the northeastern states, home to almost one-fifth of the national team. Neighbouring Manipur has contributed the most, but Mizoram, with a population of just over a million people, became a force to reckon with in the new millennium. Over the past 20 years, Mizoram has produced some top-quality talents. Like Lallianzuala Chhangte, the Chennaiyin FC winger in the Indian Super League (ISL), who debuted in 2015. He’s the third youngest Indian scorer, scoring his maiden international goal against Nepal at the age of 18. Compatriot Jerry Zirsanga was 16 when he scored his first international goal.
For most Mizos, the “beautiful game” has been a community recreational activity introduced by the British more than a century ago. Most Mizo villages and towns are perched on mountaintops, but on nearly every hilltop, a football field springs to life.
There was a time when children playing barefoot was a common sight — shoes were a luxury as was a properly inflated ball. Games were played on any available flat patch of land. Rocks acted as goal posts.
Children of all ages played every day at small football fields that serve the community as both an outlet for the kids to express themselves and as a meeting place for residents old and young. The sport itself was restricted to men, but women were eager spectators, sometimes bringing along the whole family for picnics on the side of the fields.
A professional or not, they play first for the love of football and then to win.
But people’s outlook changed when Shylo Malsawmtluanga, popular as Mama, became the first Mizo to play for India and in 2002, the first from the state to be signed up by East Bengal. Mama played for the two Kolkata giants — East Bengal and Mohun Bagan—and also in the ISL for Delhi Dynamos in the first two seasons.
Mama was like a godfather and an idol for footballers, including Chhangte and “Mizo Sniper” Jeje Lalpekhlua, the second highest Indian goal scorer of all time in ISL history. Jeje represented seven clubs across 13 years and scored 23 goals from 56 games for the national team.
The benchmark for footballing fairytales got higher in April 2017 when Aizawl FC pulled off a massive surprise by upstaging century-old powerhouses Mohun Bagan and East Bengal to win their first I-League title in only their second season in the top flight.
On the fields today, boys and girls spend hours impersonating their heroes.
Jerry Mawihmingthanga, 26, who plays for ISL club Odisha FC, credits the training from childhood and efforts of the Mizo Football Association (MFA) for the state’s feat of producing all this talent.
“Village and district competitions make kids ready for big matches,” said Langhinglova Hmar, the secretary of MFA, which is celebrating its 50th year in 2023 with a series of tournaments.
Mizoram has football clubs in all its 11 districts. The Mizoram Premier League is held every year, with eight clubs. Last year, 232 matches were played in the village championships. And when these matches are played, the entire village turns up to show support.
Mizoram has been running a state-sponsored project since 2012 to scout and train kids.
“We call it ‘Catch ‘em Young’. We hold competitions among children, aged between six and 14 years. More than 60 grassroots programmes are being conducted too,” said PC Vanlalhruaia, the MFA senior vice president.
The Mizoram government funds the development of football, as do business houses. Reliance Foundation has been helping for the past five years. It organises leagues to find talented players.
“We started the 32-week Naupang league, with matches on weekends and school holidays,” said Dika, a Reliance coach.
The lead image at the top shows Lorrain Ralte, a seven-year-old football enthusiast from Mizoram (Photo by Gurvinder Singh)
Gurvinder Singh is a journalist based in Kolkata.
