It is a chilly early morning in December. The sprawling ground of St. John’s Higher Secondary School, Parappur, in Thrisur is buzzing with energy and excitement. Budding football players, covered in mud and sweat, are engaged in their morning practice.
These children of various age groups are getting trained under the Parappur Football Club, may be the only club in the name of a village on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) accreditation list.
Parappur FC, which has produced many international, national and State players, has been selected to the list of ‘Elite’ category’ of academies by the AIFF. The village club secured a place on the list along with 32 other academies from across the country.
“The academies have been included on the ‘Elite’ list for training prospective football players to represent the country in the 2047 World Cup,” said C.C. Hanson, founder of Parappur FC.
Children in the 5-21 age group are selected for the coaching camps here that offer scientific training under licensed coaches of the Asian Football Confederation, UEFA and FIFA. Around 10,000 children take part in the selection trials every year.
The football village
Days of Parappur, a quaint village situated 13 km away from Thrissur city, begin with football and end with football.
The village is surrounded by paddy fields and after the harvest season, these fields turn into football grounds for the village people of all ages. These paddy fields used to host many small and big matches. Each family has at least one player. The village contributed many professional footballers such as C.V. Pappachan, P.J. Jose, C.V. Sunny, Regison, and N.J. Antony to the national and international tournaments.
However, a professional club was formed only in 2012 under the Parappur Sports and Education Trust. It was the dream of Mr. Hanson, an employee of the Central Excise and Customs department, who had played for SBT and Churchill Brothers. It became a residential club in 2016.
Though it was meant for children in and around the village initially, trainees from across the State started flocking to the academy once the club started winning State and national championships.
“We are Kerala champions in under 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 categories. Twenty-six players of Parappur FC represented Kerala in sub-junior, junior, youth, senior and Santhosh Trophy levels while 80 students played in State-level tournaments. One has participated in an international match too,” says Mr. Hanson.
”Expenses for coaching, stay, food, gym, accessories and studies of selected students are met by the club. The club is committed to nurturing budding soccer talents with special emphasis on children in rural Kerala as they are deprived of money, attention, recognition and opportunities,” says Mr. Hanson. “We dream of raising them to the international level by imparting world-class coaching,” he added.
Mr. Hanson is on a “mission to build a residential campus of international standards” for the club. The facility will have state-of-the- art fitness centre, clinical laboratory to examine the physical fitness of players, medical facility, and physiotherapy centre.
Many people have offered support. South Indian Bank and the Kochouseph Chittilappilly Foundation have supported the club with their CSR funds. A.S. Lal helped by providing land, he said. “However, it is a huge project which can become a reality only with the collective support of society,” Mr. Hanson said.
