Parappur FC, a Kottayam club which celebrates a Thrissur village

C. C. Hanson, a former Calicut University captain who hails from the village of Parappur, wanted a club from there to figure prominently in the country’s football map. Hanson’s hard work with the Parappur FC is already paying dividends.

Parappur FC players ahead of their Kerala Premier League match in Kochi on Friday. | Photo Credit: Nithin R. K.

A few years ago, when C. C. Hanson realised that his application to register a football club in Thrissur District was being rejected repeatedly, he decided to try another route. He bought St. Thomas, a club in Kottayam, and renamed it Parappur FC.

Parappur is a small village in Thrissur. It’s also the village where C. V. Pappachan, one of India’s football gems, belonged. And Hanson, a former Calicut University captain who hails from the village, wanted a club from there to figure prominently in the country’s football map.

Hanson moved the Kottayam club’s training base to Parappur and now his team is playing in the Kerala Premier League. Former Minerva Punjab FC youth coach Sanjoy Kumar Dey is the head coach and former Maharashtra Santosh Trophy player P. J. Jose is manager.

ALSO READ - I League: Gokulam finally amongst goals, misery continues for Sudeva

Hanson realised that a successful club needed a strong base, so he also started the Under-13, 15 and Under-18 academies.

“I went to study clubs in London and Fulham FC impressed me. I wanted to see how players were coming, now I want to scout for inborn talent and bring them up,” said  the Parappur FC secretary Hanson in a chat with Sportstar at Parappur, as he showed the new building coming up which will house the main team and the young trainees.

Hanson’s hard work is already paying dividends.

Parappur qualified for the AIFF Youth League from the Under-17 Kerala Elite League a couple of days ago and in one of the matches it shocked Gokulam Kerala. The team is also doing reasonably well in the KPL.

“The first big goal is to see Parappur play the Second Division I-League,” said Hanson.

Supported by South Indian Bank and Cochin Shipyard through the CSR route, Parappur has also picked around 40 tribal children in Wayanad and is now training them at Sulthan Bathery’s St. Mary’s School with long-term plans to include them in the main team.