Jul 29, 2008
May 30, 2008
ESPN Crew in Nainamvalappu
News Clipping from New Indian Express, Monday June 19 2006
Catching the fans in action
KOZHIKODE: Witnessing a ‘falling leaf kick’ by Ronaldinho ‘live’ may be a dream for the football fans at Nainamvalappu in the city. But that does not prevent them from dancing with the golden moments in the World Cup.They dance with the movements of Lionel Messi or Wayne Rooney and bring the Mexican Wave to the shores of the Arabian Sea. These hard-core football lovers live, eat and sleep football.No wonder, that the ESPN came all the way to Nainamvalappu to capture the beauty of their love for football. "Football is a passion for the people here," says Goutham Dimani, programme anchor with the ESPN.ESPN has featured the Mexican waves at Nainamvalappu for their ‘Duniya Goal Main’, a daily programme featuring football fever in India.The flex boards put up at every nook and cranny in the city astonished them and of course the story of a model world cup trophy. Yes, the Ninamvalappu Fans Association has a world cup trophy!They have been presenting the wooden trophy since 1994, not to the winning team, but to the fans association (of the World Cup winners) at Nainamvalappu. Interestingly, all 32 teams participating in the World Cup have fans association here. Even new entrants such as Angola and Tongo have fans in this part of the city.The Nainamvalappu Football Fans Association has also received T-shirts, souvenirs, label and pins from the FIFA.
Catching the fans in action
KOZHIKODE: Witnessing a ‘falling leaf kick’ by Ronaldinho ‘live’ may be a dream for the football fans at Nainamvalappu in the city. But that does not prevent them from dancing with the golden moments in the World Cup.They dance with the movements of Lionel Messi or Wayne Rooney and bring the Mexican Wave to the shores of the Arabian Sea. These hard-core football lovers live, eat and sleep football.No wonder, that the ESPN came all the way to Nainamvalappu to capture the beauty of their love for football. "Football is a passion for the people here," says Goutham Dimani, programme anchor with the ESPN.ESPN has featured the Mexican waves at Nainamvalappu for their ‘Duniya Goal Main’, a daily programme featuring football fever in India.The flex boards put up at every nook and cranny in the city astonished them and of course the story of a model world cup trophy. Yes, the Ninamvalappu Fans Association has a world cup trophy!They have been presenting the wooden trophy since 1994, not to the winning team, but to the fans association (of the World Cup winners) at Nainamvalappu. Interestingly, all 32 teams participating in the World Cup have fans association here. Even new entrants such as Angola and Tongo have fans in this part of the city.The Nainamvalappu Football Fans Association has also received T-shirts, souvenirs, label and pins from the FIFA.
May 24, 2008
Our Story by India Today
India TodayCover StoryStory
More than a game
M.G. Radhakrishnan
September 24, 2007
Every August when the English Premier Football League kicks off far away in the sceptred isle, homemakers in Nainamvalappu, a coastal hamlet in Kozhikode, get ready to cluster around their television sets.
The men and boys spend their nights at their club, the Nainamvalappu Football Fans Association, glued to the giant television screen at the local school. After the match they dissect every move and analyse every goal.
Like the time Manchester United played Manchester City in their city’s face-off. The people of Nainamvalappu argue, and passions run high. Often even fights break out between rival clubs.
“We did not show the match on the giant screen for there surely would have been bloodshed,” says N.V. Subair, 30, the secretary of the club, recalling a match between Argentina and Brazil. The Latin American Football Association sends their publications free to the club.
ESPN routinely features the fans and clubs in the district league are called Barcelona and Chelsea. Their players wear their idols’ jerseys and many are known by their names—be it Ronaldinho or Bianchi. Football is even more intense in neighbouring Malappuram, better known as Kerala’s Brazil.
The district has many football villages like Areacode known for their fanatic loyalty to clubs. “Here football is both a unifying and a divisive force. Football unites us across religious or political boundaries, but we also quarrel over it intensely,” says Habib Rehman, an Areacode player.
Current Rating | Bad1 2 3 4 5 (Click star to rate article)Good(0 votes)
More than a game
M.G. Radhakrishnan
September 24, 2007
Every August when the English Premier Football League kicks off far away in the sceptred isle, homemakers in Nainamvalappu, a coastal hamlet in Kozhikode, get ready to cluster around their television sets.
The men and boys spend their nights at their club, the Nainamvalappu Football Fans Association, glued to the giant television screen at the local school. After the match they dissect every move and analyse every goal.
Like the time Manchester United played Manchester City in their city’s face-off. The people of Nainamvalappu argue, and passions run high. Often even fights break out between rival clubs.
“We did not show the match on the giant screen for there surely would have been bloodshed,” says N.V. Subair, 30, the secretary of the club, recalling a match between Argentina and Brazil. The Latin American Football Association sends their publications free to the club.
ESPN routinely features the fans and clubs in the district league are called Barcelona and Chelsea. Their players wear their idols’ jerseys and many are known by their names—be it Ronaldinho or Bianchi. Football is even more intense in neighbouring Malappuram, better known as Kerala’s Brazil.
The district has many football villages like Areacode known for their fanatic loyalty to clubs. “Here football is both a unifying and a divisive force. Football unites us across religious or political boundaries, but we also quarrel over it intensely,” says Habib Rehman, an Areacode player.
Current Rating | Bad1 2 3 4 5 (Click star to rate article)Good(0 votes)
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