MALAPPURAM: Football-crazy Malappuram witnessed a rare blending of the game on Friday with four gender- neutral teams competing against each other in the finals of the first-ever gender-inclusive football tournament in the state. Breaking the traditional notion of football teams which are separated on the lines of gender, each team that played at the Kottappadu municipal stadium here had male, female and transgender/queer players. The tournament was organised as part of the Scribes Science-Cultural Festival 2017, which is being conducted by Yuvasamithi, the youth wing of the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishath (KSSP) district committee.
The four teams which fought in the 30-minute matches had reached the finals through a state-wide scouting for the teams which was kicked off in Kasargod district last month. "The tournament was a symbolic protest against the gender discriminations in our society. We opted for football because it is the most popular game through which male dominance and show of power are being transpired all over the world," said V. Vinod, former secretary of KSSP district committee and member of the organising committee.
The Women's Academy, Kozhikode, emerged as the winners. As many as 12 national-level players were also part of the two teams that participated in the tournament. There were few foreign spectators too in the gallery. Sara, a London-based freelance writer, was one among them who reached Malappuram from Kochi. "This unique tournament is an unheard of sports event in England. This is a great step towards achieving gender equality in playgrounds and games which are mostly dominated by men," Sara told DC. The event would feature in the next issue of London-based 'Zine' magazine, she said.
