They weren’t given a chance to play at the Indian Super League (ISL) or other major tournaments. They do not have grass grounds to practice, nor do they have full-time coaches and equipment. What they do have — is the winning trophy. The Ranga Reddy district football team with 10 players from Hyderabad has won the Senior Inter-District Championship. This is the first time that Telangana has conducted the tournament as a state, and the team has clinched the trophy. It was held at Dornakal in Warangal district and a few players from the winning team will now represent Hyderabad at the national level. The players are ecstatic. Sri Kumar, the goalkeeper, says, “It was a great experience. We had many pre-match team talks and that helped us bond well. I can’t wait for the nationals!”
Talking about the football scene in Hyderabad, the 25-year-old player says, “Winning the tournament wasn’t a cakewalk. We don’t have proper coaches, equipment or associations. We don’t even have grounds to practice. We only have mud grounds here and during these tournaments, we have to play on a grass ground. That can be difficult to adjust. If you look at places like Bengaluru and Kolkata, they have all the facilities. Hyderabad doesn’t even have a team in the ISL. There are many talented players here.” The captain and defender of the team, Emmanuel, has been playing football since he was 13.
“When I’m not playing football, I work as an accountant. Winning the trophy was amazing. There were many young players in the team and we still won. Hyderabad has many talented players. It’s time that the conditions here improve. Players should be given an opportunity to play at tournaments like ISL, that’s when they’ll have proper exposure,” says the 27-year-old senior player. Joshua Dharmender, the striker of the team, says that the conditions are improving with the launch of Fateh Hyderabad Associated Football Club. “We still have a long way to go. We don’t have coaches or equipment. I’m considering taking up football full-time, but we have no opportunities,” says the 24-year-old accountant.
Korakutty Sai Ram, the midfielder of the team, tells us that the finals were quite easy. “The final match was against Mahabubnagar district and we won 4-0. We had played them earlier and won 2-0, but we didn’t take it lightly. We worked really hard and it felt nice playing with seniors in the team,” says the 21-year-old player, who is currently pursuing B.Sc computer science at Bhavan’s Vivekananda College.
