Andhra Pradesh Police Football Club, previously known as Hyderabad City Police Football Club, pose after winning the Delhi Cloth Mills Trophy in 1965 / Photograph from the archives of Telangana Football Association
The Fall and Rise of Football in Hyderabad
The city of Nizams once made immense contributions to the game of football in India. But a sharp decline in the ensuing decades has overshadowed memories of the glorious past. Now, after Hyderabad Football Club’s maiden title at the Indian Super League, the game could be on the rise again.
Deepak P.N.
The football bounces around a tangle of legs before one pair steals it off into unmarked space. A lithe figure in a blue jersey and green boots surges over the hard ground of the maidan towards the netless goalpost.
Just as he pulls back his leg to shoot, another player in a neon-orange training vest comes flying in. The latter kicks the ball away. Both players collide with a loud thud. Illuminated by floodlights, puffs of dirt float up into the cool February air. The referee doesn’t blow his whistle. The night practice goes on.
“Good tackle!” roars a middle-aged man seated on a plastic chair behind the goalpost. He is the only spectator at this ground in Vijaynagar Colony, Hyderabad.
Behind him, a handful of youngsters are warming up. The large yellow board on the nearby single-room structure reads “Hyderabad Sporting Club” “Est. 1940” in both English and Urdu. The structure serves as the office, equipment room and trophy cabinet of one of Hyderabad’s oldest football clubs.
The Golden Ages
Like many other parts of India, Hyderabad was first introduced to football in the late 19th century by British regimental soldiers. The pre-Independence spread of football was rapid, with many clubs sprouting up in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. But it was after Independence that the sport reached new heights.
The 1950s and early 1960s have long been considered the ‘Golden Era’ of Indian football, and Hyderabad made far-reaching contributions to the game in that period.
”There used to be six to eight players from Hyderabad in the national team for tournaments like the Olympics and Asian Games. In fact, for the 1956 Olympics, 10 footballers were Hyderabadis,” says GP Palguna, General Secretary of the government-run Telangana Football Association (TFA), the state unit of the All India Football Federation (AIFF).
Palguna, an ex-international who played in the 1980s, continues, “But our greatest asset was Rahim saab.”
A portrait of Syed Abdul Rahim, the architect of modern Indian football, at the Telangana Football Association / Photograph by Deepak P.N.
In his coaching career from 1950 to 1963, Syed Abdul Rahim, or Rahim saab as he was popularly known, took charge of Hyderabad City Police FC and the Indian national team at the same time. Now sadly defunct, Hyderabad City Police FC was regarded as one of the best Indian football clubs of that era.
For the national team, Rahim saab improved performances so greatly that India earned the moniker of ‘the Brazil of Asia’. Under his tutelage, India won gold at the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games. It finished fourth at the 1956 Summer Olympics, mentioned earlier.
"In fact, for the 1956 Olympics, 10 footballers were Hyderabadis.”
During this period, the likes of Peter Thangaraj, Noor Mohammed, Tulsidas Balaram, Yousaf Khan and many others, all hailing from Hyderabad, thrived for the national team. No other city or state of India has ever produced as many international athletes in a single sport as Hyderabad’s 14 Olympians and 21 national players in football.
However, Rahim passed away on June 11, 1963, after being diagnosed with cancer. The death of its greatest-ever coach, regarded as the architect of modern Indian football, had a profound impact on Hyderabadi football, commencing a period of slow deterioration.
Going Downhill
The decline of Hyderabadi football, and Indian football in general, is very difficult to quantify. “Losing Rahim saab was certainly a huge blow,” says Sheikh Khalil, coach of the sub-junior Telangana teams. “We were also never able to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. And then cricket took over, especially after 1983 [when the Indian cricket team won the World Cup].”
A graph showing the number of Indian national team footballers from Hyderabad over the decades. Data from Telangana Football Association, Wikipedia / Flourish chart by Deepak P.N.
The production line of Hyderabadi footballers slowed down. There were some coming through in the 1970s and ‘80s, including Victor Amalraj and Shabbir Ali, both captaining India, with the latter once considered as the best striker in Asia. But they were joined by only a few of their fellow Hyderabadis, none of whom made a great impression.
The game hit a new low after the 1980s, with rampant political infighting and factionalism. “There was a case in the 90s in the [then-Andhra Pradesh Football] Association when the vice-president Anisimul Khan wanted to capture the seat of the secretary Alif Khan. In fact they were brothers!” chuckles Palguna. “Some board members sided with Alif, others with Anisimul, and the matter went to court. During that time there was no board, and so for some years, no football in Hyderabad!”
That meant Hyderabad missed out on the football rejuvenation happening in India in the late 1980s and the 1990s when the game became immensely popular and received heavy investment in states like Kerala, Mizoram and Manipur. West Bengal and Goa, two other traditional powerhouses of Indian football, were also going from strength to strength.
This rise in popularity in other states saw the establishment of the National Football League, India’s first domestic league, in 1996. It was rebranded as the I-League in 2007, the first professional top-tier league in India. The first, and so far only, team to represent Hyderabad in the I-League are Sreenidi Deccan FC, which joined in 2021.
Gamechangers: ISL and Hyderabad FC
The Indian Super League (ISL) began its inaugural season in October 2014 with the aim of increasing audience exposure to football in India. With its high-level sponsorships and glitz-and-glam model based on cricket’s Indian Premier League, the ISL began to grab eyeballs like no other previous Indian football tournament.
Hyderabad FC became the first franchise to represent the region when it joined the 2019-20 season of the ISL. The club was formed after the disbandment of Pune City FC, whose franchise rights were sold to businessman Vijay Madduri and sports entrepreneur Varun Tripuraneni, both from Telangana. They were later joined as co-owners by actor Rana Daggubati.
In its debut season, it finished bottom of the league. “But the performance did not worry the owners. They were building up the club and had confidence that things would improve,” says Mohammed Imran Ali, operations manager of the club and team manager of their under-17 squad. He has been with the club since its inception. “Two seasons later, we are the champions. What a comeback!”
A framed photo of the Hyderabad FC team celebrating their maiden ISL victory, displayed at the Telangana Football Association office / Photograph by Deepak P.N.
This success has also piqued the interest of the state government. “Cricket was always getting prominence, but recently we are seeing a lot of interest in football,” says Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Youth and Sports Department Principal Secretary, Telangana. “Hats off to Hyderabad FC. They have created a real buzz.”
The fact that the 2021-22 ISL was held in a lockdown bubble in Goa due to the Covid pandemic, with no spectators except for the final, makes Hyderabad FC’s victory even more impressive. The team is back to home comforts for the 2022-23 season, playing their home matches in the well-maintained GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Gachibowli.
Other stadiums and grounds in Hyderabad, however, are dying.
Open Maidan vs Closed Turf
“Football grounds in Hyderabad are in bad condition,” says Syed Arif, convenor of coaches at the TFA. “Many stadiums are being used for other purposes, like political rallies and celebration events. We are hardly able to play football in our own LB Stadium [next to which the TFA office is located]. And over the years many maidans have been built over.”
Night practice at the open maidan used by Hyderabad Sporting Club in Vijaynagar Colony / Photograph by Sarvesh Babu C.S.
With the decreasing number of public playing grounds due to urbanisation, enclosed artificial turfs have become an alternative for casual football players. They are smaller and can fit within the urban configurations of a growing city. They are ideal for five, six, or even seven-a-side football matches. Teams pay an admission fee for an hour of playing time.
Casual players participating in a game of football at Shooting Stars turf in Madhapur / Photograph by Deepak P.N.
Many footballers, however, feel that turfs are detrimental to the football scene. “They are okay for casual players but not for those who want to play professionally,” says Mohammed Ayub Khan, a B.Com student and member of Hyderabad Sporting Club. “You can’t develop stamina. Also common people and kids will find it difficult to pay hourly fees every time they want to play.”
Grassroots Plans
In Hyderabad FC’s title-winning squad, there was not a single Hyderabadi player, nor one from elsewhere in Telangana or even Andhra Pradesh. The franchise is trying to change this.
“We are focussing heavily on youth and grassroots development now,” explains Ali. “Our reserve team is participating in I-League 2 [the tier below the I-League] and our under-17 team took part in the Hero U17 Youth Cup. We are also planning a residential academy for sub-juniors.”
“Cricket was always getting prominence but recently we have seen a lot of interest in football. Hats off to Hyderabad FC. They have created a real buzz.”
In 2020, Hyderabad FC had established a partnership with Borussia Dortmund, a German football club that is among the most famous in the world, to help with grassroots development. The Covid-19 pandemic meant the partnership was temporarily sidelined for the last two years but according to Ali, both parties are in the process of getting it back on track.
Youngsters participate in a trial organised by Hyderabad FC at their training ground in Aziz Nagar / Photograph by Hyderabad Football Club
The plans of the state government for football are vague. When asked if there are any government initiatives or schemes that focus on helping talented young footballers, Sultania says, “Not yet. But we are definitely looking into it. In the meantime, we are in regular contact with the association [TFA] and other clubs to provide financial assistance for conducting matches and tournaments.”
The “financial assistance”, however, has been meagre, according to TFA officials. “TFA is working as much as possible but we are not getting enough funds from the state government,” says Palguna. “Many times, we have to spend from our own pockets for our activities.”
Palguna is crystal clear about the target audience for promoting football. “We must focus on football at school level,” he asserts. “The ISL victory has led to lots of kids getting interested in the game and that should be our main focus. Who knows, we could find the next Thangaraj or the next Shabbir Ali out there.”
For Hyderabad to regain its former glory as a cradle of Indian football, the state and private sports entities will need to invest well in the search for such young talent.
Photo Essay by Deepak P.N.
Turf Tales
astro-park-match-video.mp4Casual footballers play a match at Astro Park turf in Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. The surface looks like grass, but is actually made of synthetic fibres like nylon or polypropylene. It costs around Rs 45 lakhs to install a turf like this one, including lights, walls, nets etc. On average, a monthly amount of Rs 20,000 goes into the maintenance as well. Many of these turfs are open 24/7. The admission fees can range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500 per hour, depending on the turf quality, location and timings / Video by Deepak P.N.
Photograph on home page by Suheel Nazeer
This article was published on 26 April, 2023.
Deepak P.N. is a sports-tragic who compensates for his sub-par athletic skills by consuming sports media in industrial quantities. He sometimes writes about sports as well. deepakmct96@gmail.com