Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Euro 2008 football mania grips Kerala

Kerala delirious with bout of soccer fever

Goooaaall!! That's the resounding call that shatters the late nights in Kerala homes and hangouts, as hundreds of soccer fans all across this football-crazy State take in the past-midnight telecasts of the Euro 2008 matches now going on in Europe. In public places, on large screens, they can savour those crisp and tense moments of the best of European football as Euro 2008 enters the final stages.

It is the coastal areas of Kerala that contain the most number of diehard fans, especially in the northern Malabar region of Kozhikode, Talasherry, Mallapuram and Kannur districts. Here, on the beaches can be found huge screens on to which television projector systems beam the matches live to hundreds of fans, most of whom are fishermen.

The coastal belts of the State are also home to several football clubs that organize regular matches between local teams. They also conduct annual coaching camps to hunt out new talent and groom the fresh finds into match-winning footballers. Expenses are usuall covered through the conduct of "sevens" football tournaments, which are a Kerala version of abbreviated football, with seven members in each team. Some clubs manage to get sponsorship from local businesses and companies, while others depend on generous contributions from non-resident Keralites.

One such club, according to a report by ANI, is the Nynanvalap Football Fans Association (NFFA) in Kozhikode, which started conducting beach soccer matches in 1996. The club has received various items from the official sponsors of Euro 2008.

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