Sreenath leaves Wayanad aiming to become the first tribe footballer to wear Kerala jersey

Kalpetta: When Sreenath M (21) boarded a bus to Kozhikode from Wayanad's Kalpetta Saturday afternoon, he was creating history.

For, he will be the first Scheduled Tribe player from Kerala to join the selection camp for the Santosh Trophy tournament, now known as the Senior Men's National Football Championship. The one-month camp is starting at Kozhikode Corporation Stadium on Sunday.

As surprising as it may sound, no player from Scheduled Tribe communities has ever donned the Kerala football jersey, yet. "Not to my knowledge," says footballer Vineeth C K, whose F13 Academy is starting an academy to coach children from tribe communities free of cost at Wayanad's Tirunelly.

Sreenath, who belongs to the Paniya tribe, is a striker for Wayanad United, which play in the Kerala Premier League (KPL).

"He is the only player from Wayanad to be selected for the Santosh Trophy selection camp," says Sanush Raj, the head coach at Wayanad United.

He was selected based on his debut performance at the 58th Inter District Football Championship held in Thrissur earlier this month.

Sreenath is an attacker who is natural with both his feet. But his first goal came from a header against Alappuzha on November 6. That goal ended a 62-minute drought and the match ended with a scoreline of 3-2, sending Wayanad to the next round.

Though he did not score in the next match against Malappuram, the eventual runners-up, Sreenath was marked by the spotters. "He is definitely the first player from his community to make it this far in football," says Sanush Raj.

Sreenath's Paniya community is the single largest Scheduled Tribe in Kerala, with a population of around 90,000. Most of them live in Wayanad. Till a generation ago, members of Paniya communities worked as bonded farm labourers.

Of late, several young men have joined the police force as constables, says Haritha M K, Sreenath's neighbour and first-year BA Sociology student in St Teresa College, Ernakulam.

Some have got jobs in government departments as office attenders. A few young women have become nurses. "But there is no footballer from our community," says Haritha, giving a thumbs up to Sreenath.

Before leaving for Ernakulam, she used to give English classes to children every evening at their Paniya colony at Manivayal in Kalpetta municipality. The settlement has 11 houses, with around 50 members.

Haritha and her friends were conducting classes in makeshift sheds to ensure Paniya children remained in school. Sreenath is among those who dropped out. "He could not cope with the commerce taught in Class IX. He left school in six months," she says. That was in 2019.

Sreenath's mother Sita M washes vessels and sweeps the courtyard of Sree Maniyankode Vishnu Temple for daily wages. His father Chandran is a headload worker. Her sister is preparing to write supplementary exams for three subjects she flunked in class 12.

They share their dilapidated house with Sreenath's grandmother Paika and father's brother Kannan. "My grandfather (Karuppan) built this house. My father grew up here. I was born here," says Sreenath.

The government-subsidised the construction under the Indira Awaz Yojana. Today, blue tarpaulins wrapped over the house protect the family during the rainy season.

After dropping out of school, Sreenath started working with a roofing contractor. "I could not have become a burden on my parents," he says.

But every evening, he will be at the small ground near his house to play football with his younger friends and cousins Binu and Amal Babu.

Like Sreenath, Binu dropped out and now works as a painter. Amal Babu is at a crossroads after failing three subjects. But they take their football seriously and play in Sevens and Fives tournaments.

Last year around October, Afsal of Royals Sports, from where Sreenath buys boots and shorts, asked him to appear for a selection camp conducted by the newly incorporated Wayanad United.

"And we found him in the camp," says C K Shameem Backer, a partner of Wayanad United, based at Pinangode village.

Wayanad United started to groom students such as Sreenath. "Around 90% of our students are from such a background. Children of plantation workers and daily wage labourers. One-third of them are from tribe communities," he says.

Head coach Sanush Raj found Sreenath had a good shooting range, his crosses were dangerous, his first three steps were fast, and made quick recoveries to fall back. "Importantly, his initial touches were good, and was not hesitant to use left and right feet to score," he says.

But there was a fear in him to take the ball and go forward. "Students from tribe communities have that fear because they lack exposure. They are happy in their zone," he says.

Of the 30 players in Wayanad United, seven are from tribe communities. The club's coaches rolled out programmes to boost their confidence. "We pampered them and made ourselves available to them always just like buddies," he says. "It took some time to gain their trust."

Initially, Sreenath used to get emotionally hurt when other players pulled his leg. "Now he makes fun of them and joins the banter. He has come a long way," he says.

Before coming to Wayanad United, Sreenath had attended a camp of a Kozhikode club. Shameem Backer says that's the difference between other clubs and Wayanad United. "Other clubs are looking for ready-to-play players. They are results-oriented. We are scouting for players to groom. We are development-oriented," he says. "The results will be slow but rewarding for the players who otherwise will never get a second look," he says.

For the past year, Sreenath has been a regular for training at the club's ground. "From hit-and-run, he has graduated to playing tactical games. His level of confidence is high," says Sanush Raj.

Before Sreenath left for Kozhikode, the government's Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) gifted him a player's kit. Kalpetta MLA T Siddique felicitated him on Friday. Hopes are high. "But we are seeing this as a journey for players like him," says the coach.