A Kids’ Affair: Five things to know about Meghalaya’s debut Baby League

Making its debut on May 2018, just in time for a FIFA World Cup warm-up, the Meghalaya Baby League 2018 has been making headlines for the (much cuter) way it’s promoting the football spirit. Every Saturday, Shillong witnesses the league at Polo Grounds – young boys AND girls waddling after the ball - not just as an undeniably cute spectacle but also as a serious, professional domestic football league.

Imbibing in kids the virtues of teamwork and offering them a competitive platform for skill development, the Meghalaya Baby League is winning hearts one (baby) step at a time.

Here are 5 things you didn't know about Meghalaya Baby League:

#1 It is the brainchild of the All India Football Federation (AIFF)

The Meghalaya Football Association (MFA) came together with technical partners AIFF and main sponsors Tata Trusts to bring about development in Indian football at the grassroots level. This concept was embodied in what is now called the Baby League.

The idea is rooted in countries like Argentina, Mexico, Chile and Uruguay where such programmes play a key role in the recruitment process of top European leagues. Together, the trio aims to introduce a sense of competition in the kids’ football-play, an idea that local kids who have been playing in the streets and locality fields are not too familiar with.

#2 The duration is longer than that of the I-League and ISL

Image Courtesy: Meghalaya Football Association

The Meghalaya edition of the Baby League takes place over a period of six months, much longer than some professional leagues in India. The league has twelve teams, each playing a gruelling forty games - these kids really aren’t joking around.

#3 The game duration differs for different age groups

Image Courtesy: Meghalaya Football Association

The league was created for kids in the age group of 4-13 years old. It only makes sense that the game duration for the younger kids is different from that of the teenagers. While the 4-year-olds get game time of about 10 minutes per half, the teenagers get 25 minutes per half.

#4 The league is inclusive of all genders

Image Courtesy: Meghalaya Football Association

The league not only seeks skill development at the grassroots level but also throws in the (much-needed) gender equality in the mix. In a world where male football is more televised and alarmingly more popular than female football, the league’s rule, making the registration of at least 10% of female players in each team mandatory, is a welcome one. Kids from the outskirts of the city and other districts also travel long distances to join in on the fun.

#5 The league is one of only five editions of the Baby league in India

Image Courtesy: Meghalaya Football Association

Prior to the Meghalaya edition, baby leagues were organised in Mumbai and Pune. Following their success, AIFF turned to the north-eastern state of Meghalaya. Known for being the football-crazed part of India, North-east India has two Baby Leagues already.

The Meghalaya Baby League is one of them. The other takes place in Mizoram, which hosts a Baby League of its own called the Young Legends League, started in 2017. Following Meghalaya, Bengaluru kicked off its first ever Baby League called the Community League on July 2018. The Community League has 30 teams in three age categories. AIFF aims to introduce more such leagues to other states as well.