Fifa documentary showcases Kerala’s passion for football on their streaming platform

Kolkata: Kerala, where football is a way of life in India, now enjoys a pride of place in the shape of ‘Maitanam,’ a 40-minute documentary as a part of the bouquet on Fifa+ - the newly launched digital streaming platform of the world governing body of the game in the year of the Fifa World Cup. The film has been produced by RISE Worldwide, the sports marketing arm of Reliance Group, owners of IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

Maitanam, the Malayalam word that literally means ‘ground’ or by extension, stadium, is an ode to the coastal state’s passion and attempts to capture their people’s love for the sport - comprising of six inspirational stories from the state. The timing of the release of the documentary seems perfect with the state - which has given India an assembly line of stars like I.M.Vijayan, Jo Paul Ancheri, C.V. Pappachan and V.P.Sathyan, has emerged as champions of Santosh Trophy on Monday.

James Rego, Head of Broadcast & Production, RISE Worldwide said: “We thank Fifa for extending this opportunity to showcase the passion for football in parts of India. We are humbled and privileged to bring to the world the extraordinary sway of football across the local grounds and lanes in Kerala in our documentary.

‘‘We take great pleasure in partnering with Fifa+ and look forward to showcasing our production expertise as we connect with billions of football fans across the world. This film marks India’s first step in multilingual indigenous football storytelling.”