How Mizoram became a powerhouse of Indian football
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. About five years ago, the Fanai household was split down the middle. The parents wanted their youngest child, Lalremtluanga Fanai, then aged 15 years, to chase an education and get a government job.
On the other hand their boy harboured secret ambitions of playing professional football, egged on by his elder brother. Fanai kicked his first ball while growing up in the Bawngkawn neighbourhood of Aizawl, idolising the current India international, Lallianzuala Chhangte, whom he had seen on television. His father worked at the local market; his mother sold vegetables. Through football, Fanai wanted to change his family’s life.
Last season, Fanai, 20, made his senior debut for Bengaluru FC in the Indian Super League (ISL). This year, the defensive midfielder has missed just two games, firmly establishing himself as an integral member of the team. According to a report, Mapping Our Minutes, that assessed Indian football between 2014 and 2023, Mizo footballers comprised 13.41% of the player pool (senior national team, India U-23, U-20 and U-17, ISL and I-League), the second highest after Manipur.
In terms of debuts, Mizos accounted for 2.34% of the total minutes in the ISL in 2015-16, which soared to 31.38% in 2022-23—the highest among all states. When it comes to the national team, four Mizo players were part of the squad during the last international friendly against Malaysia in November. Over the last few years, the state with the second-lowest population (around 1.2 million) has churned out some of the top footballing talent in the country and in numbers. But this wasn’t always the case.
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