Manipur’s football binding force in tatters as unrest grows

Bengaluru: Think of Manipur today and the first impression is no longer football but the prolonged ethnic violence that has gripped the North-Eastern state since 2023.

Recent attempts to restore peace in the Imphal valley offered brief hope but fresh clashes earlier this month exposed how deep the divide still runs between the Meiteis (the majority community living in the plains) and the Kuki-Zo tribes, a Tibeto-Burman-speaking minority settled in the hills.

“Any respect between Meiteis and Kukis is not possible at the moment. If you hear that militants killed a five-year-old boy and a six-month-old baby girl in a bomb blast, how do you expect any peace?” a young footballer from NEROCA FC tells DH.

Imphal-based NEROCA (North Eastern Re-Organising Cultural Association) holds a special place in the state’s football culture, sharing a six-decade-old cross-town rivalry with TRAU FC while protraying the image of the thriving ecosytem for the game.

In many ways, Manipur has long been inseparable from Indian football. The state is considered the factory of Indian football talent with players spread across clubs nationwide. It’s important to understand that football isn’t merely a sport - it is a way of life and flourishes even with the limited infrastructure of a couple of full-sized grass pitches.

That passion was too evident in 2017 when NEROCA made their long-awaited I-League debut. Over 27,000 fans flocked the Khuman Lampak Stadium in the capital as the club, coached by Gift Raikhan, went on a remarkable run, narrowly missing the title that season while finishing ahead of Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

“Unfortunately, it’s not the same anymore,” says Raikhan, who returned this year to rebuild the club. “We are trying to get back on our feet, but the challenges have increased tenfold.”

The outbreak of violence in 2023 forced both NEROCA and TRAU to shift their home matches out of Manipur. This hit them really hard as both sides faced relegations, owing to the lack of players’ availability and other logistical concerns due to the concerns.

More damaging than the results was the complete halt of footballing activity in the state. Local leagues stopped, development pathways collapsed, and players — especially emerging ones — were left without competition or visibility.

“Football has suffered big time in the Imphal valley,” says NEROCA general manager Nixon Rajkumar. “Since 2023, local leagues at all levels have stopped. Even when senior football resumed last year, strikes, blockades and curfews kept interrupting it. We could only assemble our squad 10-15 days before the league started.”

The uncertainty persists as NEROCA remains uncertain about their home matches following the latest violence.

At the grassroots level, the impact is worse as young footballers are either stepping away from the sport or leaving the state altogether. Those with means are moving to cities like Bengaluru, Delhi and Kolkata, chasing opportunities that no longer exist back home. Their growing presence in local leagues, especially in Karnataka, has not gone unnoticed.

“Over the last five years, we’ve seen many players from the NorthEast, including Manipuri footballers (in Karnataka leagues),” a Karnataka State Football Association official says. “But the numbers have increased rapidly in recent years.”

Raikhan understands the exodus but also what it costs the state’s footballing future. For him, the solution still circles back to something bigger than the sport.

“Peace will return to Manipur soon, we have to believe it, or the bloodshed will never end,” he says. “Football has a big role to play because for years it kept us united before, and it will do so again.”