Brolington Warlarpih, who took the captain’s armband for Meghalaya in the absence of regular skipper Fullmoon Mukhim in Wednesday’s semi-final, will return to being the laundry supervisor at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences in Shillong after the final whistle on Saturday. Should Meghalaya win, Ronaldkydon Lyngdoh, the beating heart of Meghalaya midfield, will hope to find a club contract, and better still, a government job. Sheen Stevenson, who netted the winner against Punjab, will go back to his desk at the Accountant General (AG) Office with a little spring in his step.
Being the national champions means the world to Meghalaya’s bunch of believers who are confident of rewriting history when they take the field at the King Fahd International Stadium on Saturday. Their final hurdle will be Karnataka, looking to end their 54-year wait for the trophy.
“There is a first time for everything. We are confident that we will beat Karnataka. We know they are a good side but we are ready to give our best,” said Sheen.
Football has always been a top draw in the north-eastern state, but a national title has always eluded them. Coach Khlain Pyrkhat Syiemlieh took them past the qualifiers in 2016-17 and 2018-19, but on both occasions, they had to make do with a fourth-place finish in the group stage.
“This group is a lot more driven than any that I have trained before. I believe we have it in us to go all the way,” he said.
This year, the change in format has meant that the qualifiers have been done away with, allowing all states to play the group stages. That has meant more teams, more matches, and a better chance to advance.
“Of course, that has been a big factor,” said team manager and former Indian footballer Eugenson Lyngdoh.
“Earlier, one bad match could throw you out of the competition but now we had enough opportunities to figure our way out. Meghalaya has always produced good footballers and the rising number of Shillong Premier League (SPL) players in the Indian Super League (ISL) is proof of our quality. We have also done well at the junior level but somehow success at the senior level hasn’t come. These boys have a chance to change that. We have excellent bonding and belief in the group,” the 36-year-old added.
Part of the reason behind the camaraderie is the fact that most of the boys have played age-group football with or against each other in the SPL. Fullmoon, Brolington, Ronaldkydon, and Sheen were all part of the Ryntih Football Club and played the 2019 SPL season together.
“It has been a big factor, I would say. We have been playing with each other since under-16 and under-18 days and that has helped us gel really well. In fact, most of us have similar choices; almost the entire team is a Ronaldo fan, which is why you’ll see a lot of ‘Siuu’ celebrations…Only 4-5 players play outside Shillong in our team, so we know each other’s games inside-out,” explained Sheen.
Karnataka, by contrast, have a more cosmopolitan look with players from Assam, Kerala, and West Bengal making their squad.
“We don’t think of our opponents a lot because that may scramble our thought process, but there’s enough motivation in the group to get the job done,” Brolington added. Financial security, of course, is the biggest driver. While most players have professional contracts from state clubs, the salaries are far too low. Doing well at Santosh Trophy, they hope, will open their avenues to the ISL and the I-league.
“The most a club pays a professional footballer in Meghalaya is about ₹30,000 a month. That’s not enough to sustain a sporting career and take care of our families. We want a better standard of living and do something for our families,” said Ronaldkydon.
The 24-year-old midfielder played for FC Bengaluru United last year but doesn’t have a contract anymore. Since his father died in 2015, Ronaldkydon’s mother and sister have been running the finances with their teaching jobs. Ronaldkydon dropped out of his BA programme after four semesters and has no educational cushion to fall back on.
“That’s what makes winning this Santosh Trophy so critical for me. Football has a massive following in Meghalaya but it hardly pays to be a footballer. I hope things will change if we win on Saturday,” he said.
Lack of prospects and bleak financial returns is precisely why Sheen and Brolington were dissuaded by their parents to take up football as a career. Sheen’s policeman father, the sole breadwinner of the family, tried his best to drill some sense in his then-teenage son, but the football-mad boy was unrelenting.
“My friends would play badminton and cricket, but I was always hooked to football. I was told there’s no future, but the heart does what it does. I was too much in love with this sport to let conventional wisdom get in my way,” the 26-year-old said.
Brolington, meanwhile, persuaded his parents to send him to Shillong from their native village of Mawkynrew on the pretext of higher studies. He dropped out of his B Sc after a year to pursue a diploma in Mechanical Engineering, but football remained a constant. “I wanted to get out of my village because my parents wanted me to quit football. Once I was by myself, I decided to chart my footballing journey,” he recalled.
A Meghalaya veteran now, the 34-year-old has been playing Santosh Trophy since 2012. A winner’s medal will cap off a long, tiring quest of a footballing dream. “When I started out, we were never in the reckoning for the national title, but now we are at the final hurdle. I have decided to hang up my boots after the final to give time to my family. I have an eight-month-old daughter now who needs my time,” he said.
Come Saturday, Meghalaya’s very own band of brothers will hope for a fitting end to their fairytale.