Tourney among ‘World Cup’ favourites

Coastal regions celebrate football fever with public screenings and flex boards of their stars

A bike rally from Kochuveli covering the entire coast till Valiyathura in connection with ‘World Cup’ format tournament in the city.

All the action of the World Cup might be happening thousands of miles away in Moscow or Sochi, but the coastal regions of the city are witnessing something close to the excitement of watching the real thing.

The football fans here have even recreated a capsule version of the tournament near Kochuveli, which almost became a ‘mini Moscow’ this weekend.

Preparations

The preparations began weeks back, with fans of the various teams, who regularly play together at the grounds here, getting together to organise something on a scale not seen in these parts.

Under the aegis of St. Joseph’s Sports and Arts Club, which counts among its members former State and national level players, they chalked out a tournament with 10 teams representing their favourite national teams. “We have been organising screening of the matches near our ground for the past three World Cups. This time, we planned something bigger. “To announce the tournament, we took out a bike rally from Kochuveli, covering the entire coast till Valiyathura.

“The rally had hundreds of motorcycles, with fans of all top teams represented. It created much excitement in the region and brought in players and supporters. The coastal regions have a large population for whom football is an emotion,” says Wilson Robinson, president of St. Joseph’s Club.

20-minute duration

The ‘World Cup’ was organised over the course of a day on Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6.30 p.m, with each match of 20 minutes duration.

The players did not necessarily play in the teams, of which they are a fan, as team members were selected by drawing lots. Thus, there were many like Argentina fan Darshan who had to play for the German team. The ‘World Cup’, modelled on the actual trophy, was finally won by ‘England’.

Screenings draw crowds

The World Cup excitement is but not limited just to the coastal regions. Most of the junctions have been taken over by football fans, with flex boards of their favourite stars and teams.

Match screenings on big screens draw large crowds, especially in Vanchiyoor, Kuravankonam and other places.

Many prefer catching the action in these public spaces and sharing in the excitement, rather than being cooped up alone in their rooms with no one to cheer with. It is a team game, after all.