While the rest of the country was tuned into the IPL mania, it’s football that has had Kashmir hooked for the past few days. In the 100th year of the game’s introduction to the Valley, the state is hosting the Santosh Trophy — India’s only national-level football tournament — and for the first time, stadiums here are full of thousands of cheering spectators.Adding to their excitement is the home team’s winning run — it has remained unbeaten so far to make it to the quarterfinals. Unlike cricket, Kashmir’s football players have made it to the national team and it even produced a captain for India.If the excitement at J-K’s match against Delhi on June 1, which it had to win to reach the quarterfinals, was unprecedented, so were the celebrations that followed. Srinagar after a long time saw sports fans burst firecrackers to celebrate a victory.Though militancy hit sports activity in Kashmir, football has always been a popular game here. In fact, the Valley has produced many top-notch players who have represented India in various international tournaments. Kashmir’s soccer legend Abdul Majeed Kakroo led the national team in 1986 and 87. Today, striker Mehraj-ud-din Wadoo is playing SAF games in Thailand, representing India.“It is always a privilege to represent India at the international level. It hardly gets bigger than that for us,” says Kakroo, who is now the coach of the J-K team. “I am proud that I was also the captain of the team.”The sport was introduced in the Valley by Christian missionaries and educationist Tyndale Biscoe in 1908 as affordable entertainment for the people.With the state’s players doing well, the game has maintained a loyal following in Kashmir. “You see, no Kashmiri cricket player has ever made it to the national team. Only two were selected for the IPL (Indian Premier League) but sent back later. In contrast, more than a dozen of our footballers have represented India. This has helped add to the popularity of the game as young players see a ray of hope,” says Mohammad Shafi Nari, who has played for India. However, there has been some waning of interest lately. While earlier J-K had more than 20 teams representing different government departments — the state government requires all its departments to set up soccer teams — today the number is a mere four. The Santosh Trophy, coming to the state after 30 years, may have been just the kick the game needed.
