Rennedy Singh (left) and Bijen Singh

Manipur, as of date, is undoubtedly the powerhouse of Indian football. The tiny state holds the distinction of being the only northeastern state to annex the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship.

Apart from being the powerhouse, where sports has of late caught up as a religion, Manipur is also the storehouse of footballers for any leading football outfit in the country.

But there was a time when the Manipur footballers preferred not to leave their home state and the skill of these talented players was nipped in the bud. But things have changed since the 1990s. Almost every leading outfit today comprises at least two players from Manipur.

Surkumar Singh, Rennedy Singh, Monitomba Singh, Tiken Singh, Raju Singh and Bijen Singh are at present the blue-eyed boys of the supporters of their respective clubs away from their homeland.

Even the Manipur women’s football team has become invincible. The women have made it a habit to clinch the national title every year.

To be precise, football is in the Manipuri people’s blood, as in the case of the Chinese and Koreans in Asia.

Assam had made its Santosh Trophy debut in 1947 and the goalkeeper then was Dhiren Singh from Manipur. The strongly-built custodian’s anticipation and grit has been exemplary till date. Manipur has also produced some very talented goalkeepers like Gopeswar Singh, Dipak Limbu and Premkanta Singh. Gopeswar Singh created ripples during the 1969 Santosh Trophy Tournament in Nagaon; Dipak Limbu created a sensation representing Gauh-ati University at Patna in 1958 and Premkanta Singh was the cynosure of all eyes representing Gauhati University in the East Zone inter-university tournament at Siliguri in 1976.

The well-built stopper Tomba Singh and the hardworking Aleng Tangkhul, Santi Kumar, Shyama Singh and others from Manipur who represented Assam and Gauhati University are still no less than icons in the game as far as Assam is concerned.

In the 1960 Santosh Trophy tournament at Kozhikode (erstwhile Calicut), mercurial striker Naba Kumar Singh of Manipur scored a goal for Assam against Mysore, which was adjudged as one of the best goals of the tournament.

It would be worth mentioning the fleet-footed left winger Basanta Kabui, who represented India in the junior squad in 1964 and Kesho Singh, who was a regular in the Gauhati University outfit as genuine footballers Manipur had produced.

The history of Manipur’s football is an endless episode in Indian football. However, this was the result of tradition and talent and not formal grooming. The same scenario continues till date.

Had the resources been harnessed and professionally groomed, it would have definitely warranted India a berth in the World Cup and even put India among the top eight footballing nations in the world.

The little that the All India Football Federation can do to promote latent talent in the state is to establish a football academy here. The result would be that anyone could guarantee a medal in at least the Asian Games in not more than five years.