When Hyderabad loved and lost the beautiful game
The article explores the historical significance of football in Hyderabad, which was once a national powerhouse for the sport. Despite the current popularity of international stars among local youth, the city's professional football legacy has largely faded.
Why it matters
It documents the cultural shift in regional sports interest and the decline of local sporting institutions.
Sam steps out of his home in Vallavur Nagar in Sainikpuri bouncing a yellow football with his head. He makes it bounce five times before he loses control and then he dribbles towards the Vallavur Nagar passing larger-than-life posters of Lionel Messi, Ronaldo and a host of other international football stars. The street is festooned with flags of Brazil and Argentina as most of the residents are fans of the two countries and their star strikers. The oversized posters dwarf the motorists who stop and take a second glance. The Vallavur Nagar Football Club ground itself is half the size of a regular football field ringed by apartment complexes. “I come to play here for only one hour. My parents want me to study. I love football. I love Neymar, but my parents want me to study and I have to be back home by 7 p.m.,” says Simeon Jaden, a class VIII student of St Joseph School in Lal Bazaar.
The piece is a cultural retrospective and does not exhibit political or social bias.
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