Soccer-Scarred by ethnic violence, Manipur’s clubs continue to fight for survival

Audio By Carbonatix

By Chiranjit Ojha

Dec 15 (Reuters) – Khaiminthang Lhungdim just wanted to visit his family during a rare break from playing duties last month, but an airport off-limits to his community meant the Punjab FC defender was unable to make the journey home to Manipur.

More than two years after a deadly conflict broke out in the north-eastern Indian state bordering Myanmar, the ethnic discord continues to divide communities and the game that still sometimes unites them in passion.

Since May 2023, almost 260 people have died and around 60,000 lost their homes after violence erupted between the majority Meitei and minority Kuki communities over the potential sharing of economic benefits and quotas in government jobs.

The Meiteis control the Imphal valley, which includes the capital, airport and most sporting infrastructure, while the Kukis inhabit the surrounding hills — the sides separated by a neutral zone monitored by federal paramilitary forces.

As a member of the Kuki community, Lhungdim is unable to fly into Imphal from his club’s training base in Mohali, near Punjab’s capital Chandigarh. He has to fly to neighbouring state Mizoram before travelling over 350 kilometres by treacherous mountainous roads to visit his family.   

“It’s hard for me to get home … it takes days,” he told Reuters.

Soccer is the most popular sport in Manipur, with over 50 players from the state appearing in the top-flight Indian Super League and the I-League last season. 

Manipur’s major clubs, based in Imphal but traditionally open to players from all communities, have not escaped the ethnic divisions.

Ngampao Kipgen, a Kuki former coach at Imphal-based club Eastern Sporting Union (ESU), fled to the hills with his family after his house was burned down.

“There is a great wall between the two communities,” he said.      

The upheaval has devastated Manipur’s soccer scene. 

ESU, the only Manipuri club to win the Indian Women’s League, are now struggling to compete even at state level.

“We lost momentum when we were not able to pay off players’ salaries when the conflict started,” club official Homendro Irengbam said.

Imphal-based men’s clubs NEROCA and TRAU were relegated from the national second tier after being forced to play all their matches away from home in the wake of the conflict. TRAU dropped into the fourth tier last season.

“When we are psychologically depressed and under turmoil, we cannot do our best on the field,” said TRAU vice president Phulen Meitei.

“Finances are also an issue … earlier our youth teams could travel by bus and trains. But now the airport is the only option. Travel costs have gone up significantly.”

Kuki areas also suffered, with many teams shutting down during the conflict. Players from the community are unable to play in state-level tournaments.

“Only a couple of academies are still playing in youth leagues. But the other teams who were in the state leagues, they’re all abolished,” Kipgen said.

GLIMMERS OF HOPE

Despite the ethnic divide, however, soccer continues to provide moments of unity.

Nine Manipuri players were in the India squad that qualified for the under-17 Asian Cup for the first time in November at a tournament in Ahmedabad, and the goals in the decisive 2-1 win over regional power Iran were scored by Gunleiba Wangkheirakpam and Dallalmuon Gangte, one a Meitei and the other a Kuki player.

Lhungdim said the conflict never affected his relationships with Meitei players.

“When they see us, we talk, we smile,” he said. “The thing is, it’s the politicians… not the people.”

National-level soccer returned to Imphal in August, when the city co-hosted the Durand Cup, Asia’s oldest soccer tournament and over 24,000 people attended the derby clash between TRAU and NEROCA.

Irengbam said sport provides a minor distraction in the state, where thousands remain in displacement camps, often with little privacy and poor sanitary conditions.

“Somebody winning a medal and coming back home to a warm reception is one of the only good things you get in the newspaper,” he said.

“On the opposite side of the same paper, you read about somebody getting killed or committing suicide in a camp.”

(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)