Sevens football is a seven-a-side version of

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

played in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, on a smaller

football pitch A football pitch or soccer field is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is ty ...

. Sevens football is predominantly popular in

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, Malabar, and other parts of

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. The matches in sevens tournaments are often played to fully packed stadiums. Sevens tournaments have also attracted players from other parts of India, as well as international players. Matches are usually held from November to May. The Sevens Football Association (SFA) organizes around 50 tournaments among different clubs across South India. Several

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

s, including

internationals

I. M. Vijayan Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (born 25 April 1969), also known by the nickname Kalo Harin (Blackbuck), is a former professional football player who also captained the India national football team. He played as a striker, where he formed a successfu ...

Ashique Kuruniyan Muhammed Ashique Kuruniyan (born 14 June 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward or defender for Indian Super League club Bengaluru and the India national team. Club career Early life and youth career Born in Malap ...

, VP Suhair,

Mashoor Shereef Mashoor Shereef Thangalakath (born 5 January 1993) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a defender for I-League club Gokulam Kerala. Club career Chennai City He made his professional debut for the Chennai City against Indian ...

, CK Vineeth, Zakeer Manuppa,

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice ...

, Asif Kottayil and Anas Edathodika, credit their experience in sevens tournaments for helping them improve footballing skills and develop passion for the sport.

In popular culture

* '' Sudani from Nigeria'' (2018) * ''

Sevenes Sevenes is a 2011 Malayalam-language sports-action film written by Iqbal Kuttipuram and directed by Joshiy. The cast includes Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Nivin Pauly, Rejith Menon, Aju Varghese, Vineeth Kumar, and Mithun Ramesh in lead role ...

'' (2011)

References

{{Team Sport Seven-a-side football Sport in India Sport in Kerala Association football terminology Association football variants Athletic sports Ball games Team sports

In popular culture

See also

References