Jul 12, 2026 8:00pm IST
‘The Land Of Football’ Review: A Heartwarming, Deeply Rooted Look Inside Kerala’s Obsession With The Beautiful Game
For one month every four years, the world stops to watch 22 men chase a ball. But in a small, coastal strip in South India, the clock never really stops ticking for football. In a nation where cricket operates as an undisputed religion and its players are elevated to godhood, Kerala chooses a different gospel. It is a place where local tea shops debate tactics with the ferocity of a European punditry panel and entire villages paint themselves in the iconic bright yellow of Brazil or the ethereal blue and white of Argentina. When Cristiano Ronaldo scores halfway across the globe, a chorus of "Siu" echoes through the Malabar coast.
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Directed by Hasif Hakeem, the Malayalam documentary series “The Land of Football” arrives as an emotional, deeply authentic love letter to this relentless obsession. It comes at a crucial time, serving as a fierce counter-narrative to the cynical international media reports during the 2022 World Cup that branded these passionate supporters as "fake fans." The world, in its rigid misunderstanding, could not grasp how a state from a country that has never touched a World Cup pitch could bleed for these distant footballing nations. Hakeem’s docuseries does not just defend these fans, it honors them by tracing the deep, undeniable roots of their devotion.
The magic of this series lies in how it frames football not merely as a sport, but as an heirloom passed down through generations. It beautifully takes a segue into the past to remind us that this madness did not spark overnight. In the premier episode, “The First Believers”, we are introduced to the architects of this culture. Long before high-speed internet and social media algorithms, there was Bhasi Malapparamba. As a freelance sports journalist, Malapparamba defied the odds to cover eight FIFA World Cups with official accreditation. The show treats us to heart-melting glimpses of his home, crowded with memories, including an iconic photograph with Pele from a time when Malapparamba literally jumped out of a stadium crowd to ask the King a question. It is this historical romance, sparked by the eras of Pele and Maradona, that laid the foundation for the modern madness.
As the narrative transitions into “The Keepers of The Game”, the series dives into the sheer, gritty emotion that sustains the sport on the ground level. We meet legendary figures like Coach Rufus D'Souza, an Anglo-Indian who dedicated his life to the Parade Ground in Kochi, practicing his "4Ds" of desire, dedication, direction and discipline. His story is the stuff of football folklore, embodying a time when he played and won a match immediately after his mother’s funeral, guided by what he believed was her lingering spirit.
The documentary thrives when it captures the chaotic beauty of Sevens football, a parallel universe operating outside official jurisdictions where the fans sit so close to the pitch you can hear their heartbeat and their heckling. It is here that icons like I.M. Vijayan honed their lethal instincts. This raw passion extends to modern superfans like Inzamam-ul-Haq, an Arsenal supporter so hopelessly devoted to former player Mesut Ozil that he wrapped his newborn son in an Arsenal flag at the hospital and named him Mehd Ozil.
But “The Land of Football” is careful not to just live in the past or focus solely on the men. Its final chapter, “The Home Ground”, brilliantly highlights the people driving the beautiful game forward into a more inclusive future. We meet Jushna Shahin, a young freelance sports journalist who learned Spanish just to one day interview Lionel Messi, and Rinsha Mariyam, a roaring young winger making waves in Portugal. Alongside them is CV Seena, a former Indian footballer whose academy trains hundreds of children, fiercely chasing the ultimate dream: to see Indians not just watching the World Cup, but actively playing in it.
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Through heartbreak, banter and absolute bedlam, the series moves in perfect sync with the high-stakes rhythm of the World Cup, capturing everything from the silence of Argentina’s shock loss against Saudi Arabia to the pure euphoria of them celebrating the exit of their arch rivals Brazil.
Ultimately, football in Kerala is fueled by pure, unadulterated emotion. It is a unifying force that bridges generations, connects rival couples and defies international skepticism. Hasif Hakeem’s documentary delivers a vibrant, pulsing viewing experience that football purists will recognize and savor as the ultimate tribute to the beautiful game.
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