'Little Messi of Kasaragod' to get professional training

KANNUR: It was a video footage posted on the social media that changed the fate of 12-year-old M Mahroof , from Parappa Delampadi in Kasaragod , who is better known as ‘Little Messi of Kasaragod’.

Once the video, which showed the young talent tackling the opponents during the local football matches, grabbed the attention of the authorities, they offered him the best football coaching in the state.

It was this talent which gave him the name Little Messi, after the Argentine football legend Lionel Messi, and as a token of appreciation Kasaragod District Sports Council president P Habeeb Rahman, secretary KV Raghavan and other members of the council visited him and gifted him a football kit on Tuesday.

“Our plan is to provide him training in any professional centre of his liking and if he is willing we can admit him in GV Raja Sports School, a reputed sports training centre,” said Rahman.

Incidentally, Mahroof, a Class VII student of Govt Higher Secondary School at Adoor, has got no professional training but when the video shot by some of his friends were posted on the social media, it was shared on ‘Manjappada’, the Facebook page of the fans of Kerala Blasters.

According to Shakeel Abdulla, a resident of Mogral in the district, who is also the Indian agent of Inventive Sports, which is a London-based football consultancy, many professional clubs including Kerala Blasters, Atletico de Kolkata, Bengaluru FC and Gokulam Kerala have already approached Mahroof and said they are ready to let him participate in the trials of their clubs. If he performs exceptionally well, he would be given professional coaching in training academies.