Shylo Malsawmtluanga stood in the middle of the field, hands in his pockets and cap pulled down to shield his eyes from the cold wind, as he gazed at the children chasing footballs around him. He did not wave his arms or shout instructions, nor did he pull players in the middle of the game to give advice. He observes. The time for instruction will come later. For now, let the children play the game.
As he looks around the field, seeing over 50 young kids practice and compete with their parents cheering them on, he does so with a certain bemusement. “I didn’t even dream things like this could happen,” he whispers with a smile.
Malsawmtluanga, Mama as he is commonly known, is the mentor of the RFYC Naupang League. Also a coach, he joins the ground staff in moving the goalposts, and helps set up the banana and juice boxes for the children. He is so much more than just a decorative position that he holds. For he remains what he was during his playing days: Mizoram football’s soul. He is the stone that created an avalanche, one that gave Mizoram a larger identity in the rest of India. That of a football hotbed.
For many Indian football fans, Mama might not jump off the page in the pantheon of footballing greats. A career traversing East Bengal, Salgaocar, and Mohun Bagan with a handful of India caps, is a good one, but not extraordinary. But Mama is.
Traveling back a handful of decades, Mizoram football was unknown. If one were to bring up the name of K Kawllianthanga, many would hardly remember him as a goalkeeper who represented India in 1977. Starting from the second half of the 20th century, Mizoram went through years of turmoil. There were armed and prolonged uprisings that were met by violent airstrikes and ground operations by the Indian government. A prolonged fight and demands for a sovereign nation State until the Mizoram Peace Accord was signed in 1986. The scars of those days have not yet faded from the hearts of a generation.
Even after the violence ended, there was little love lost towards mainland India who continued to ostracise and treat their North-Eastern brethren with a certain xenophobic gaze. There was little in the way of welcome, leaving many footballers from the state unable and uninterested in looking westward for a footballing career.
It was in the last remnants of this backdrop that Mama came around. The route for Mama to mainland India came through Tata Football Academy (TFA), where he joined following some eye-catching performances in the Subroto Cup school tournament at the end of the last millennium.
“When I went to TFA, I wanted to take something back home. I wanted to change how
footballers were perceived. I wanted to change things,” he recalls.
His days at TFA were hard, unable to speak either English or Hindi, he spent days in silence. He struggled with the culture and cuisine, both alien. It was harder once he went professional. Unable to pronounce his name, Kolkata football branded him Tulunga. If he faced racist remarks, his tenuous grasp on the language at the time insulated him. But he knew that if he made it, he could initiate a paradigm change.
“I wanted to prove that players from Mizoram can go out and do it,” he remembers. “People didn’t want to go out (of Mizoram). I suffered a lot, but I just wanted to prove it to myself. I never thought it would have such a huge impact,” he admits.
The older generation holds Mama’s professionalism and dedication as the reason for his success. There were others more talented, but none who did the little things right. He shouldered the role of ambassador for Mizoram football. He was the first from the state to sign for East Bengal, to make a name in mainland India. When he made his debut for the Indian national team, it thawed the cold outlook towards India from many in Mizoram. They had one of their own breaking barriers now. Mama provided representation to a region of people.
For years, Mizoram had remained hidden behind the glorious hills, harbouring a great football culture rendered inaccessible to the wider world because of travel complications and a disinterest among the locals, happy in their hilltop hamlet. Lalrindika Ralte saw Mama make a career, saw him appear in local advertisements and make life changing money from football. He saw one of his own, from his district, find hitherto unseen success. Inspired, he followed suit, donning the famous Red and Gold of East Bengal.
The door Mama cracked open had now been kicked ajar. His successor Jeje Lalpekhlua became a stalwart for the national team and was voted the AIFF Player of the Year in 2016. Lallianzuala Chhangte has earned that award in 2023 and 2024. The tiny state now accounts for 13.4% of the players pool across categories.
So when RFYC Naupang League kicked off, the organisers wanted someone who could help spread the word and represent the values of the programme. In Mama, they found the perfect match. An idol whose life was made by hard work, respect, and humility. For Mama, this meant that he could see the next iteration of the revolution that he, in some ways, started. Where he scratched and clawed his way through his early years in football as a young boy in Lunglei district, here was a fully structured and scientifically run programme that can help develop the next generation of talent.
“These kids are lucky because they can stay here at home, learn football, and there is a pathway to be professional,” Mama explains. “They can eat home-cooked meals, be comfortable in their environment, and not miss out on anything. They need to take advantage of this. I keep telling them this.”
Mama is on the field nearly every day, training and teaching the kids along with the coaches at the RFYC Naupang League as the hope grows among the youngsters of a future as a professional footballer. The feeling is that so many have succeeded, so why not them? For Mama though, the programme means more than that. He had started trying to change the perception of football players among his people. He did, aided by the Dikas, Jejes and Chhangtes.
Parents are looking at the game not necessarily as a path towards potential stardom, but more so as a favourable lifestyle. A way to keep the children fit and engaged, away from gadgets, and towards a lifestyle filled with social interaction and a sense of community. The kids also learn the values of hard work and respect, the nature of failure and triumph whilst keeping them away from social evils. The RFYC Naupang League is the means to that end.
“The kids have everything they need here (in Mizoram), access to the best training and facilities. All options are open for them,” Mama admits. “I can’t believe how much things have changed. I didn’t even dream this could happen.”
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