Downtown Srinagar to Durand: Story of how football became antidote to drugs

What started as a rag-tag team, consisting mostly of local players from the troubled area, would finish second in I-League 2 and is currently leading the Jammu & Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) Professional League.

Next month, the Srinagar club will be hitting the national football circuit and participating in the Durand Cup in Kokrajhar, Assam.

Hinan cites Udta Punjab, the hit Hindi movie based on Punjab’s drug problem, to explain the situation in Downtown Srinagar. “Our area has become like Udta Kashmir now,” says the 29-year-old. “Many think that Downtown Srinagar is like the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Once it used to be the hub of everything, be it art, culture, sports or business. Over a period of time, because of turmoil and political instability, the Downtown changed. There is a perception that we carry guns all the time, and that’s not true.”

He went on to say that it was their conviction that sports has the power to effect change that made them start a football club. “The adage goes: ‘Be the change you wish to see in the world.’ Out of love for this place called Downtown, we decided to do something for our locality, and that’s how we came up with Downtown Heroes FC. Sport is the only thing that can keep the youth away from this poison,” he says.

Downtown FC coach Hilal Rasool Parray says the region has the potential to become a feeder for Indian football. He also says that the club has a larger responsibility. “We are a community-driven club. The talent here is massive and it is still untapped. But our main goal is to save our kids from the drug menace. We are focused on football but our priority is also to bring youngsters back to the classrooms,” says Hilal.

And to cater to this objective, the club’s training schedules are finalised so that their education is not hampered. “Three of our players are engineers, seven are pursuing undergraduate courses, nine or 10 are in school. We try to shape the football schedule in such a way that the kids can finish their studies in the morning and can hit the gym and do training sessions in the evening. The ultimate goal is to serve our community,” the coach says.

But the path had its own share of obstacles.

Downtown Heroes star player Shahmeer Tariq, a first-year electrical engineering student, is a fan of Manchester United midfielder Casemiro. In daily life, he has had to tackle several challenges. The 22-year-old talks about getting stopped by security forces while travelling for the club’s practice sessions.

“Rok lete hai kaafi baar (They have stopped us so many times). Now we are used to this,” he laughs. “The aim is to play for India and in the Indian Super League. We have massive fan support as well.”

Another player Moomin Bhat, 24, wants to get an MBA degree but also wants to become a role model for youngsters. “You won’t believe your eyes when you see a 10- or 11-year-old kid taking drugs. First I heard it from my peers, and then I saw it first-hand. It is scary. I don’t know what my career will be in the next five years but for now I just want to be someone who they can look up to,” Bhat says.

After Real Kashmir FC and Lonestar Kashmir FC, Downtown Heroes FC is the third football club to emerge from the state. What makes them unique is that they are playing football with a message. “Thirty years ago, whenever there used to be a football match, the entire Downtown used to turn up. People used to shut their shops and go to stadiums to watch the game. Football was so popular back then. In the last three decades, it has lost its charm, but now people are going back to football,” says Hinan.

“For the Durand Cup, 9 out of the 11 in the starting line-up are from Downtown. I want my players to play in the ISL, I-League and for India in the future. And above all, we are playing with a message: ‘We are just normal people, we are not evil’.”