A new dawn for football in Mizoram

Mizoram with the Santosh Trophy

The final of the Santosh Trophy was the result of a decade long struggle of Mizoram. In the final at Siliguri, they defeated Railways very comfortably 3-0 for their maiden title. What made the victory even sweeter was the fact that they remained undefeated in last 8 matches of the final championship. On course to victory, they curtailed the challenge of domestic heavyweights like Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur and Tamil Nadu.

The heroes of the team got a warm welcome in the state. They passed through National Highway-54 from Lengpui Airport (only airport of the state) to Aizwal. Thousands of people cheered on both sides of the road. The team was given a celebrated concert in the heart of the capital at Assam Rifles football field. Wednesday (the day when the team arrived at the capital) was declared a state holiday.

It was a rough ride to the top. Despite having the second highest literacy rate (92%) in the country after Kerala, Mizos face language problems outside the state. The main reason is that most of the people speak only Mizo. They are neither fluent in English nor in Hindi. The infrastructure was in shambles up to a decade before. But public interest prevailed.

The Santosh Trophy victory is a case study of the steady efforts by the administrators and the people of the state.

Untill a decade ago, Mizoram made a limited impact on Indian football. The development of the game in the state was confined to projects conducted by AIFF and FIFA. In 2002, Shlo Malsawmtlunanga (better known as Mama) became the first state footballer to play for a national club. He joined East Bengal as a midfielder.

It inspired many youngsters. The result was visible on the ground. Mizoram won the Mir Iqbal Husain trophy (the biggest competition in India U-15 division) recently. The lads got amplified by the success. Nearly half a dozen of them were selected in the national team. Zaidin Mawin went on to become captain of the junior national team.

In such a blooming scenario, the government took positive steps. The state funded a lot of projects in the last five years. In this period, four artificial turfs were opened to nurture talent. It triggered football’s growth in the state. In 2012, the Mizoram Premier League was started, consisting of eight teams whose matches are shown live on local television.

The strong league resulted in more active participation of aspiring footballers. Many players honed their skills at the Tata Football Academy. Mizoram is currently the National junior champion thanks to all these efforts. In the current U-19 Indian team, 5 players are from Mizoram. 20 Mizo players are currently playing in different I-League clubs. Jeje Lalpenkhulua is a youth icon in the state.

Mizoram recently won the biggest football tournament of the North-East – the Dr T Ao Memorial trophy. The state football federation has made a good calendar, one that gives players ample rest and one that helps administrators in hosting events.

For quite a long time, the North Eastern part of the country has filled a vaccum in Indian football. Among them, Manipur and Sikkim were the leaders. Now Mizoram has also joined the group. The sun of Indian football is rising in the East.