In the Malabar region of Kerala, India, people are crazy about football. It starts from childhood as kids play, discuss and watch football more than any other sport.

Many football players for the Indian national team come from the area, but while the traditional 11-a-side format is popular, it is sevens that truly reigns here.

Sevens in Kerala dates all the way back to pre-independence years when the British played XIs in their army camps. The locals weren’t allowed to play, so they started to play in their own fields, with limited players.

Seven-a-side was born and is still going strong today with each game lasting for an hour on a smaller field. Red cards are rarely taken out by the referee and offside rules are mostly overlooked.

The sevens season runs from November to May and in the local teams, two foreign players can appear – with players from countries like Sudan, Nepal, Nigeria and Ghana taking part alongside their Indian team-mates.

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