A Lakshadweep fairytale

KOCHI: Five square kilometres. That is the area of Andrott, a tiny island in the Lakshadweep. This is where Mohammed Ameer fell in love with the game of football. From those modest surroundings, kicking around with friends for fun, to playing alongside some of the biggest names in world football in the Premier Futsal league, Ameer's journey has been fascinating. Though his team Kochi 5s lost to Mumbai 5s in the final of the tournament on Sunday, for Ameer, the experience has been fulfilling.
"Though we lost the final, it's an unbelievable experience.I never thought this would happen a few months back," the 20-year-old told TOI. "Playing along with legends in front of a lot of people, what more can I ask for."
When Ameer's father Hamsa Koya, a PWD employee, took his family to Kochi three years ago, he thought the change would take his son's focus away from football to studies. But as it turned out, Ameer became more engrossed in the game in the vast expanses of the city and started playing regularly much to the worry of his parents. However, that anxiety has now given way to joy as they see their son on television. "We watched every match and we are feeling really proud now," says Koya.
Everything about Premier Futsal would make you think it was a hastily organised tournament. Not least the unimaginative team names like Kochi 5s, Mumbai 5s and so on. But Ameer was prepared for it right from the outset. He, upon knowing about the selection trials in Kochi, took time to learn about futsal and found that the balls used in it bounce less than the normal ones. He decided to make one for himself. Using paper and insulation tape, Ameer made a ball that would behave similarly to a futsal ball.
"I said I would buy a proper ball if needed but he said that for futsal, we need a different ball and he did it all by himself and started practising," Koya says. "I knew he was really serious about it and I was sure he would pass the selection trials."
The selection trials were not easy either. Amir was one of the 15 chosen out of a group of more than 200 in the trials held in Kochi. From there, he was taken to Chennai for the next round and he, along with fellow Malayali Basil Kuriakose, from Kothamangalam, was picked to represent the Kochi team.
Ameer was a student of SRV School in Kochi. Though he failed in plus two, Ameer asked his parents to have faith in him because he thinks football could take him places.
The futsal gig may just be the beginning of the tale of the Andrott boy.