Malappuram:

The district will host a mud football tournament on July 16 and 17 near Malappuram town.

Paddy fields with 15-metre width and 20-metre length and those ploughed well to make them marshy would be the venue of the mud football tournament which is organised by the state tourism department.

A similar kind of tournament that was organised in Malappuram during the last monsoon season was labelled a big success.

The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) has started registering teams. The secretary of DTPC, Ummar Koya, said international rules of mud soccer would be amended for regional adaptation.

The duration of a match would be 20 minutes and the minimum age of players has been fixed at 18. The total number of players in a team would be 11, including three substitutes. The winner of the tournament will get cash prize and a certificate.

The tourism department has decided to organise mud soccer every year after the event last year attracted a large number of tourists. The authorities are hopeful that the popularity of football in Malappuram would make the event a success.

The mud football organised in Wayanad as part of the monsoon tourism festival was a big success.

The district administration of Malappuram is also planning to organise panchayat-level mud football tournaments with an aim to popularise the sport among villagers.

Apart from the mud football, the DTPC will also organise rain trips to Nilambur and off-road bike rallies as part of its monsoon tourism programmes in Malappuram.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Kozhikode / TNN / July 06th, 2016