Kozhikode, renowned for its passionate football culture, captured global attention during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar when a group of fans of the Argentine team erected a 30-foot cut-out of player Lionel Messi on a small islet in the Kurungattu Kadavu River in Pullavoor village. Not to be outdone, Brazil fans responded by constructing a towering 40-foot image of Neymar along the riverbanks. The friendly rivalry escalated when a 45-foot cut-out of Cristiano Ronaldo emerged. This ‘cut-out war’ quickly went viral, catching the attention of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) itself, which tweeted, ‘#FIFAWorldCup fever has hit Kerala. Giant cutouts of Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi popped up on a local river ahead of the tournament.’
People playing football on Kozhikode beach. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
Fans watching a football match at the local CPI(M) party office in Kuttichira. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
Football’s legacy in Kozhikode, erstwhile Calicut, spans more than a hundred years. The region’s relationship with the sport began when the British crown established control over Northern Kerala in the mid-seventeenth century, creating the Malabar District. This administrative region comprised what are now six districts—Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad, with Calicut as its headquarters. Along with their administrative system, the British introduced organised sports including cricket, hockey, football, tennis, golf and badminton towards the end of the nineteenth century.
Also Read | At the Ocean’s Crossroads
Historical records show football matches being played in Victorian-era Calicut by British military units stationed at West Hills Barracks, including the Somerset Light Infantry, All Star Rifles, Dorset Regiment, Lancashire and Fusiliers. The sport was also popular among European trading firms like Pierce Leslie, English and Scottish Company, etc., as well as among European civil servants and Christian missionaries and their schools. During this early phase, like elsewhere in India, there was little contact between the sporting activities of the colonisers and those of the natives. It wasn’t until 1900–05 that Calicut’s local residents began playing football.
Graffiti featuring football players Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Junior on the walls of Gujarat Street. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
The game also inspired a popular regional variant, known as Sevens Football in North Kerala. This modified version of football, played with seven players per side instead of the traditional eleven, is neither FIFA-approved nor officially recognised by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). This match emerged as a modern successor to Thalapandu, a popular traditional game played between two teams of seven on makeshift grounds, often utilising harvested paddy fields.
The Rise of Football in Colonial Calicut: 1900s to 1940s
The enduring popularity of football in Kozhikode, and in Kerala at large, is a testament to the contributions of legendary players and clubs supported by the local football community. The city’s first football club, simply known as Kuttan’s Team, formed in the early 1900s, was the brainchild of a horse-cart driver named Kuttan. A freedom fighter who participated in the Salt Satyagraha and was even imprisoned for it, Kuttan wanted to form a local team capable of defeating foreign opponents on home ground. Though the team initially focused on hockey, it later transitioned to football. However, financial difficulties led Kuttan’s Team to merge with the Kerala Cricket Club, which evolved into the Challengers Club. For nearly three decades, Challengers Club dominated the football scene in Malabar. During this period, K.P. Alikoya, who ran a butcher shop at the central market, founded a club known as the Universal Sports Club, initiating an intense rivalry between the two clubs. The barefooted Challengers team often played weekend matches against the booted British army teams. This era produced many football legends in Kozhikode, such as Andy Master, known for the famous ‘Andy pass’, Devadas, Kovunni Menon, Chandu Menon, ‘Arabi’ Krishnan Nair, S.B. Laben, Thampurankandi Gopi, Keezedath Kesavan Nair, West Hill Achu, Kottayi Achu, goalkeeper Raran, Sunny Raymond, D’Cruz, and others. Among them, Kottayi Achu particularly captivated local fans, establishing what was likely a Kerala record by actively playing for 30 consecutive years after his 1918 debut.
Graffiti featuring football players Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi on the streets of Kozhikode. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
Malabar Christian College ground. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
The first football tournament in Calicut originated at Commercial School (now the Nadakkavu Government Higher Secondary School), where Natarajan, a skilled footballer and teacher, coached students and organised an inter-school competition for the Rao Sahab Vaidyanath Iyer Cup at Mananchira Maidan. In 1909, the West Coast Tournaments expanded the sport’s reach by inviting several educational institutions from across the region, including those in Coimbatore and South Kanara, featuring sports like hockey, tennis and badminton alongside football. This period saw the emergence of several significant tournaments: Y.M.C.A. tournaments where in the game volleyball was introduced (1918–35); the Bhavani Rao Memorial Football Tournament (1918–34); the Keeleri Kunhikannan Football Tournament (1931–33), named after the father of Indian circus, Keeleri Kunhikannan; and the Nakkadi Karunakaran Memorial Football Tournament (1935–36), organised by the Challengers Club. By the 1920s, football had become deeply embedded in city life, with evening matches held weekly at Mananchira Maidan in the city centre. Later, this sport was also played at various grounds, including West Hill Ground, Court Maidan, Basel German Mission School Ground (later known as Malabar Christian College Ground), St. Joseph’s School Ground, Commercial School Ground and the Railway Institute Ground.
The Game Post-Independence: 1940s to 1990s
The Abdurrahman Memorial Football Tournament of 1948 marked a significant milestone in Calicut’s football history, introducing two innovations: paid entry and live Malayalam commentary on A.I.R. by Kommattil Raman Menon and P.A. Muhammad Koya (Mushtaq). Another notable event, the P.K. Nair Gold Cup Football Tournament invited Bengal football clubs for the first time to Calicut and helped popularise the sport throughout Malabar during its brief run.
A watershed moment came in 1949 with the establishment of the Malabar Football Association (MFA), which united clubs across Calicut, Cannanore, Malappuram and Palakkad, bringing unprecedented structure and discipline to the sport. At the national level, the MFA team gained quick attention, with local talents like Devadas, T. A. Rehman, J. Antony, Madhavan Nambiar, and Pavitran capturing headlines with their outstanding performances in events such as the 1954 Rovers Cup in Mumbai. The team’s success was so remarkable that the players were absorbed by top clubs across India. Their exceptional performances put Malabar on the map as a rich, untapped source of football talent, with these players being eagerly sought after by premier clubs in the following years.
The Saith Nagjee Memorial Football Tournament, launched in 1952, is often referred to as the ‘Durand Cup of the South’ and became a highly anticipated annual event for football fans. Notably, the Saith Nagjee Tournament, along with the Rovers Cup in Bombay, were the first in India to invite international teams, starting with the Karachi Kickers from Pakistan, which featured renowned Pakistani national players, including centre-forward Khayundamali Chenkasi, striker Oomer, and left winger Moosa. Watching the Nagjee Tournament was an exciting experience for the community. Post-match analyses and discussions would animate households well into the night, with enthusiastic debates about players and memorable moments continuing in schoolyards the next day. The tournament consistently drew full attendance, especially when skilled teams like JCT, RAC, Vasco, MRC, EME, Gorkha Brigade and Premier Tyres competed.
Olympian T. Abdul Rahman. (Picture courtesy: K.G. Raghunandanan.)
One of Kozhikode’s pioneering footballers, M. Jayaram, became the first from the city to represent India in the 1953 Asian Quadrangular while serving with the Indian Navy. However, T. Abdul Rahman emerged as the city’s most celebrated footballer, representing India in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics during Indian football’s golden age. Rahman, a torchbearer for Kerala football on the global stage, had a career spanning more than six decades as a player, coach and selector, with much of it spent in Calcutta.
Calicut produced its fair share of football legends such as Moideenkutty, K.P. Sethumadhavan, E.N. Sudheer, Prasannan, M. Natarajan, A.K. Balasubramanian, Abdul Azeez, Premnath Philip, and Muhammad Najeeb. One of Calicut’s renowned coaches, C.P.M. Usman Koya, brought glory to the region as the coach of Calicut University, when he led the university team to seven victories in the Ashutosh Mukherjee All India Inter University Football Tournament Shield.
Calicut successfully hosted the National Football Championships for the Santosh Trophy twice—first in 1960-61 and again in 1975-76, with both events drawing record crowds. This enthusiasm continued with the 1987 Jawaharlal Nehru Invitation International Gold Cup Football Tournament, where spectator turnout was so overwhelming that fans sat along the touchline, in violation of FIFA regulations.
The tournament landscape shifted in the 1990s when the emergence of the Scissors Cup began, diminishing the Saith Nagjee Tournament’s prominence. The launch of the National Football League (NFL) in 1997 marked the definitive end of the Nagjee Tournament’s golden era.
A Revival
The dawn of the twenty-first century brought significant changes to the football landscape of Kozhikode. With the advent of globalised media and the broadcasting of international football on Indian satellite television transformed local fandom, while declining number of tournaments, clubs and training facilities led to Kerala’s diminishing representation in the national team.
The Super League Kerala match between Calicut FC and Malappuram FC at EMS Stadium in Kozhikode. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
In recent years, however, the tide has begun to turn, with the establishment of the first professional football team from North Kerala, Gokulam Kerala FC. They made history by winning the I-League title in 2020–21, becoming the first club from Kerala to achieve this feat, successfully defending their title in the 2021–22 season as well. Additionally, they earned the distinction of being the first club from the state to qualify for a continental competition, the AFC Cup, in 2022. Gokulam Kerala also won the 129th edition of the Durand Cup, becoming the second team from Kerala to win this prestigious competition. The club’s success extends to women’s football as well, with their team dominating the Indian Women’s League through three consecutive championship victories (2019-20, 2021-22 and 2022-23). Notably, Gokulam Kerala FC’s commitment to youth development programmes has played a crucial role in rekindling regional interest in football.
A wave of excitement sweeps through the crowd as Calicut FC scores. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
Kozhikode has now entered an exciting new phase. The first session of the Super League Kerala in November 2024 became an exciting and revolutionary football league, organised by the Kerala Football Association. It reached its zenith when the recently formed and second professional football club from Calicut, known as Calicut FC, emerged as the champion club beating Forca Kochi to the score of 2-1. In the summit clash at the home ground EMS Corporation Stadium with a total attendance amassing 35,672, Calicut FC clinched the title and one crore prize money. The road to glory of Calicut FC will become a cornerstone of Calicut’s sporting landscape, captivating fans and nurturing local talent to bring their skills and abilities to the attention of the local populace and by extension, the entire country.
Calicut FC fans celebrating a goal. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
A diverse crowd enjoying the Calicut FC vs. Malappuram FC match. (Picture credits: Joseph Rahul.)
Several new football training centres are emerging across Calicut, with the Universal Soccer Academy and the Malabar Sports & Recreation Foundation (MSRF), formerly Sports & Education Promotion Trust (SEPT), showing particular promise. MSRF’s partnership with Argentina’s ‘Juniors of Argentina’ programme, which produced legendary players like Diego Maradona and Juan Roman Riquelme, signals ambitious plans for the future of football in Kerala.
Unlike in other states, where club loyalty dominates, football fans in Kerala demonstrate a deep passion for the game itself. Football permeates daily life, with matches being played everywhere—from sandy beaches and laterite quarries to verdant fields. The combination of historical legacy, social significance, success in national football tournaments, regular contribution of quality players to the national team, passionate fan culture, absence of cricket’s dominance, state government support and sustained media coverage has significantly contributed to football’s immense popularity in Kozhikode compared to other parts of India.
