Mizoram’s inter-village football tournament sees a crowd like never before

At around 12 pm on Tuesday, Aizawl, the capital city of Mizoram was jam packed. Despite the peak traffic periods depending on morning and evening school and office hours, on this particular Tuesday, traffic moved slowly from the early afternoon. 

A slow traffic day could be expected when the Prime Minister or President of India would come to town on official business; but this time, it was an altogether different matter. It was the day of the finals of the Inter Village Football Tournament. The LBS Suzuki All Mizoram Inter Village Tournament saw participation from 204 teams representing local councils and village councils from 11 districts of the state. 

On the day of the final match, Lammual ground, where the match was played, was filled beyond its seating capability. While the match was supposed to start at 3 pm, the ground was already packed by 1 pm. The pathways, slopes surrounding the ground and even trees, were filled with people wanting to get a glimpse of the match. As thousands stood without cover, when a burst of rain started pouring a few minutes before the match started, the crowd stood still. Halfway through the match, the sky lit up and the sun blazed, scorching hot rays at the crowd, and even then, they stood still.