While watching the final of the Kerala Premier League at Thrissur’s Corporation Stadium on a wet Sunday night, you could not help overhear two elderly men talking, with concern, about the possibility of the FIFA World Cup not being televised in India.

They, and the rest of football-mad Kerala, must have heaved a sigh of relief when it was announced that Zee would show the matches live in India, after signing a last-minute deal with FIFA.

Brazil and Argentina, not surprisingly, have been the perennial favourites with Kerala’s football fans. European teams like France and Spain have a lot of supporters, too. You cannot quite add Qatar in such an elite list of teams.

But this time around, the Malayalis are sure to follow the fortunes of that Gulf country too. Qatar includes a player from Kerala. Tahsin Jamshid was born in Doha of Malayali parents hailing from Kannur district.

Ever since the 19-year-old winger was included in Qatar’s preliminary squad for the World Cup, football fans here were hoping that he would make it to the final team for the tournament to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Little wonder, his inclusion has caused a lot of excitement. Among those who talked about his achievement was author and Thiruvananthapuram MP, Shashi Tharoor.

Tahsin, whose father is a former footballer, had played for Qatar at the Under-17 and 19 levels, too. He isn’t the only player with an Indian connection at the World Cup, though.

There are, in fact, three others. Sarpreet Singh is perhaps the best-known among them. The 27-year-old will play for New Zealand as an attacking midfielder.

Sarpreet’s family is from Jalandhar. He has been playing for New Zealand’s senior team since 2018 and has scored three goals.

Nishan Velupillay is part of the Australian World Cup team. The 25-year-old winger’s father is a Malaysian of Tamil heritage, while his mother is an Anglo Indian.

Samuel Moutoussamy is in the squad of Democratic Republic of Congo. He has Tamil roots. While his mother is Congolese, his father is of Indo-Guadeloupean of Tamil origin. The 29-year-old defensive midfielder, who was born in Paris, has made his debut for Congo in 2019.

This is the first World Cup that will feature an Indian-origin player since 2006, when Vikash Dhorasoo played for France. His ancestors had moved to Mauritius from Andhra.

Dhorasoo is the last Indian origin player to feature in the World Cup.
| Photo Credit:
Getty Images

Published on Jun 02, 2026