Kerala football tourney to be revived after 25 years

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - There is finally some good news for football lovers in Kerala. After a long wait of 25 years, the once-prestigious G.V. Raja Football Tournament will be revived later this month.

Speaking to IANS, T.P.Dasan, president of the Kerala State Sports Council, said all arrangements are in place and the tournament would be held by the end of this month.

The organising committee of the tournament met early this week and decided in principle to stage the tournament with 16 teams - eight from the state and eight from outside.

“The Council would be the facilitator of the tournament and this is certainly a welcome move by all concerned to revive the tournament. A main sponsor has been identified and other sponsors would also be roped in soon,” said Dasan.

The tournament was instituted in the memory of G.V. Raja, a keen sports enthusiast and a member of the erstwhile royal family of Poonjar near Kottayam.

He was founder president of the Kerala State Sports Council and was also the first Keralite to become an office-bearer of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The last time the tournament was held in 1984 at the Chandrasekheran Nair stadium in the heart of the city, it ended in a tragedy when just ahead of the final between Mumbai’s Tatas and local team Travancore Titanium, a temporary gallery collapsed, killing four spectators.

Former India player Najeemuddin, who was warming up for Titanium on that ill-fated day, described it as a ghastly incident.

“We were warming up on the sidelines ahead of the finals. The crowd was pouring in and soon the temporary gallery started filling up. Suddnely, it came down with a loud noise. It was a sight I will never forget,” said Najeemuddin, whose team had twice lifted the trophy.

K.G.Saju, now a doctor, was sitting opposite the gallery that came crashing down.

“I was then a student at the medical college here and football was a passion. That day, being the final, I reached early and got a seat in the permanent gallery. Just ahead of the start of the match, I heard loud cries and to my horror, I saw the temporary gallery coming down,” said Saju.

The G.V. Raja tournament, since its inception in the mid-1970s had seen a large number of Kerala-based players like Xavier Pious, Najeemuddin, Victor Manjila, K.S. Sethumadahavan and M.M.Jacob playing in it with various Kerala-based teams and going on to don the India colours.