Lack of proper football grounds, including grass courts, in most parts of the State is a major hindrance to the development of the sport, V. Midhun, Kerala team’s goalkeeper whose two saves during the tiebreaker won the team the Santosh Trophy in Kolkata defeating defending champion West Bengal.
Speaking at a ‘meet-the-player’ programme organised by the Kannur Press Club here on Wednesday, Mr. Midhun, a native of Muzhappilangad here, said that good football pitches should be there for the development of football in the State. More tournaments could be organised if there were good grounds, including grass courts, he added.
As players in the State were mostly playing for departmental teams, it would not be easy for them to play outside the State, he said adding that the State now had only three football tournaments — club football tournament, Kerala Premier League, and the G.V. Raja tournament.
Father, first coach
“My first coach was my father who played as goalkeeper for the district police team,” Midhun said in reply to a question. V. Murali, his father, used to take him to practise in the police team. “My father and I guarded the goal posts for the opposite teams in the senior division league match in the district,” he recalled.
The 24-year-old Kerala goalkeeper said he had started playing football while he was studying in Class VIII. He had joined the Kannur Sporting Buds for training. After joining the Sree Narayana College, he played for the college team for three years and then for the Kannur University team for two years, he said. He had also played for Eagles FC, Kochi, in the second division league match before he joined the State Bank of Travancore (now SBI) in 2014, he added.
Good experience
It was a good experience in Kolkata, Midhun recalled about his performance in the matches for Santosh Trophy. As Kerala team’s defence had been strong, he did not have to do much, he said adding that the match against Mizoram gave him the chance to prove his mettle. The Kerala team’s victory was the victory of team spirit built by coach Satheevan Balan, he said in reply to a query.
Press Club secretary Prashanth Puthalath presided. Vice president Supriya Sudhakar and treasurer Siji Ulahannan were present.
