Long before fans chanted his name in stadiums, former Indian footballer C.K. Vineeth recalls how, as a 17-year-old, he used to walk around Kannur Stadium in North Kerala, searching for training facilities to accomplish his dream of becoming a professional football player.
“For me, hardships did not mean the lack of money. It was the lack of opportunities,” he said.
With these experiences in mind, Vineeth, along with former teammate Rino Anto, has embarked on a four-month-long expedition, traversing the remote tribal regions of the nation, aiming to discover and nurture talent, while also identifying potential sites for football academies.
Along the way, they will also be joined by former players Mohammed Rafi, Anas Edathodika and N P Pradeep, all of whom had a vital role in planning this journey. Consequently, on February 3, Actor Mammootty flagged off the venture ‘Soccer Safari’.
How did the idea of ‘Soccer Safari’ come about?
With the introduction of the Indian Super League (ISL), football has gained a glamour quotient over the past decade in the country, especially in Kerala, resulting in the formation of numerous school-based academies.
“We knew that nowadays the purpose of many academies is monetisation. So, we had it in our minds that our academies should not be like that,” Vineeth told Sportstar.
Initially, the plan was to start 70 academies across 14 districts in the state. Out of those, 10 were aimed at training tribal and underprivileged kids free of cost.
Subsequently, in November 2022 and April 2023, two academies were set up for tribal and underprivileged kids in Thirunelli and Attapady, respectively, by the Thirteenth Foundation. The foundation, which is a charitable trust headed by active and former sportspersons including Vineeth and Rino, joined hands with Mammootty’s “Care and Share International Foundation” to build a platform for the kids.
Apart from these two academies, which provided free coaching, seven others were established in Kannur, Wayanad and Palakkad, and inaugurated by Sunil Chhetri.
“After these academies were set up, we received very positive results from the kids. Not only did their footballing skills improve, but there was a holistic development as well. Kids who were introverted started coming out. Their eating habits improved. They started going to school properly,” Vineeth said.
“Even some of the kids who had some vices started improving and gave up these habits to play football,” he added.
The positive response led Vineeth and Rino to wonder why this development should be restricted to only Kerala.
“For us, it was easy in Kerala as we had someone in every corner of the state to guide and help us. ‘Soccer Safari’ was started so that we could personally go experience and identify the situation in different parts of the country,” Vineeth said.
The dream duo
Vineeth, a widely travelled footballer, said that the venture was needed as everyone associated with ‘Soccer Safari’ believed that they could act as a bridge between the talented youngsters and the clubs.
“I first met Vineeth when he came from United SC (then Prayag United) to Bengaluru FC in 2014. At the time, I did not know him very well but slowly we became close and now he is stuck with me like ‘Vethalam’ (Betaal),” Rino said.
Rino and Vineeth started off as teammates in Bengaluru and then went on to share the field, playing for Kerala Blasters FC, East Bengal FC, RoundGlass Punjab FC, as well as the Indian national team.
“It was in 2021, while playing for RoundGlass, that we started thinking of beginning an academy,” Rino said.
According to him, the safari is Vineeth’s idea. “I never really travelled that much. But when he told me about this plan, I felt it was wrong to let him go alone. So, I tagged along.”
The journey so far
As of the 35th day of the journey, the duo has visited nine states: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
While the initial plan was to identify locations to set up academies, Vineeth and Rino soon realised the magnitude of the work cut out for them.
Purely from a football perspective, once they left Kerala, they understood that in many rural parts of the country, the sport is not even played. Volleyball, kho-kho, hockey and kabaddi are some of the games popular among locals.
In the few places where they noticed interest in football, Vineeth and Rino had an insight into the underlying problem.
In the Sundarbans, for example, Vineeth said that despite having enough grounds and kids who are interested in football, the area lacked individuals who could guide the youngsters.
“An aspiring footballer needs a minimum of 4-5 training sessions a week,” Vineeth said. “Here (Sundarbans), we learned that the kids are ‘trained’ by a coach who comes every Saturday evening and leaves the next afternoon.”
But Vineeth said that the coach’s approach didn’t reflect disinterest or ignorance but the absence of proper guidance.
“In Jujumura block of the Sambalpur district in Odisha, we came across a 32-year-old playing football. It was too late for him to start a career in the sport as a player, but [he] was still interested in coaching,” said Vineeth.
However, the scarcity of opportunities and discouragement from his seniors prevented him from pursuing an AIFF E-Certificate.
A major reason for this state of affairs is the language barrier in rural areas as the AIFF coaching license training is only available in Hindi and English.
“The authorities should take the initiative and teach interested individuals in local languages so that they can properly coach the youngsters,” Vineeth said.
Beyond the marginalised
Meanwhile, in cities, internal conflicts in state football associations are relentless.
In the Mayurbhanj district, during an interaction with a sports officer, Vineeth and Rino discovered that the hundreds of kids that show up for a camp are measured for their height and weight. Following this, they are barely made to kick the ball around, after which a few of them advance to the next stages.
Hundreds of kids that show up for camps Mayurbhanj district are measured for their height and weight instead of footballing ability. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
“I do not understand how for Under-15 and Under-13 levels, physical size and fitness can be used as the deciding factor instead of actual footballing ability,” Vineeth questioned. “These are the areas where a change should begin.”
A promising future
While Vineeth and Rino have been on the road, other former players and managers have played a part in helping them identify and visit the tribal and underprivileged areas in different states.
“In Kolkata, we have Syed Rahim Nabi and Subrata Paul, in Mizoram we have Jeje Lalpekhlua, in Shillong we have Eugeneson Lyngdoh and so on. In different places we have different people who are willing to join us and help make this journey successful,” Vineeth said.
With just a third of their journey completed, Vineeth said they have planned to travel for a minimum of 120 days. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
They have also received assistance from state governments and forest departments to identify and approach the underprivileged tribes.
For starters, while visiting areas where football coaching already exists, instructions are given to the trainers to identify and note down the talented youngsters. The veteran players then suggest these names and set up trials with their former clubs.
In Odisha’s Koraput and parts of Bhubaneswar, they have already started coordinating with the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS Foundation) to plan the setting up of academies for tribal and underprivileged kids.
With just a third of their journey completed, Vineeth said they have planned to travel for a minimum of 120 days. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we went over 120 days,” he added.
Although ‘Soccer Safari’ is still fresh, the determined efforts of the former players offer hope that slowly but steadily, India could establish itself as a prominent entity in world football.
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