Football, fair play, and local pride: Inside Sansad Khel Mahotsav’s second edition

The second edition of the Sansad Khel Mahotsav under the Namo Khel Series is set to begin on 15 July in Gola block of the Ramgarh district and conclude on 15 September. Organised under the leadership of Hazaribagh MP Manish Jaiswal, the tournament will see football competitions held across all 22 blocks of the Hazaribagh Lok Sabha constituency.

According to Jaiswal, 1,500 teams and approximately 22,500 players are expected to participate, representing villages and wards from the Hazaribagh, Ramgarh, Chatra, and Kodarma districts. The previous edition, in 2024, had seen participation from 13,245 players and 883 teams across 396 panchayats and 68 urban wards.

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The opening ceremony in Hazaribagh featured a torch relay attended by former footballers including Vikas Chaudhary, Shankar Mukherjee, Ashok Bhattacharya, Pramod Kumar, and Mukesh Kumar. The torch was formally lit to mark the start of the tournament calendar.

Winning teams at the block level will be awarded ₹25,000 and runners-up will receive ₹15,000. All participating teams will be provided with playing kits. A total of 120 referees will officiate matches across the blocks, each equipped with standard uniforms.

The production of football jerseys has been assigned to a local stitching unit based in Hazaribagh. The move aligns with the emphasis on local manufacturing and rural livelihood generation. Workers engaged in the production unit will be supplying the uniforms for all teams before the matches commence.

Women’s teams have also been included in designated matches. Cultural programmes are scheduled for both the opening and closing events of the tournament.

The Namo Khel Series was initiated in 2016 when Jaiswal served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly. The event was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed in 2022. Since then, kabaddi, carrom, and boxing have been added in separate events.

Referees have been drawn from local coaching institutes and former players’ networks. The organisers stated that many of the officials assigned have prior experience with state-level or panchayat-level matches.

In some blocks, teams are being mentored by former village-level players. Coordinators said panchayat grounds have been cleared and marked for the matches over the last two weeks.

According to the organising committee, several panchayats have already completed trials for team selection. In Ramgarh, Chatra and Barkagaon, a majority of teams are being formed through school and local youth club nominations.

The stitching unit preparing jerseys employs rural tailors trained under state skill initiatives. The unit has confirmed that it will meet the delivery deadlines by 12 July.

Committee members confirmed that the torch relay will be held across five sub-regions before returning to Hazaribagh for the closing ceremony. Cultural troupes from the region will participate in local folk performances during the final match.

Jaiswal stated that future editions of the tournament may include support for other popular sports such as volleyball, athletics, and kho-kho in blocks where demand is high.

Representatives from local panchayats, district functionaries, party workers, and sports volunteers are managing block-level coordination. The event also involves volunteers from local sports associations for team registration, ground preparation, and logistics.

Jaiswal reiterated that the initiative aims to promote grassroots participation in sports and foster a structured competitive platform for rural youth. He also noted that efforts are being made to document and shortlist promising players for advanced training opportunities.

The organising committee will release daily updates on match results, injury reports, and highlight reels through block coordinators.

The tournament’s closing ceremony will be held in Hazaribagh on 15 September, with prizes, cultural performances, and the presentation of citations to organisers and participants.