Football is arguably one of the most aggressive sports played in the world. It is also a sport with a massive fan-base. With the FIFA World Cup fever setting in, fans in the country are organising matches and hitting the grounds running for a game of football.
And now in Kochi, the country’s first-ever "bubble soccer" league is being organised.
What is bubble soccer? Simply put, it is a fun spin-off of regular football. Started first in the US, this game softens the aggression of regular football while adding oodles of fun. And how does this work? By playing the game in bubble suits.
"Everybody enjoys football, but not everyone plays it. We wanted to bring a form of football that everybody can play. We wanted to remove the seriousness of the game and bring something that is a lot less aggressive and a lot more fun. Bubble football, therefore, was the perfect choice. It is casual and fun and everybody, right from mums and dads to school kids, can play the game," said Andrine Mendez of Pling Foods, one of the main sponsors of the event.
The league games, organised by Kitchen Events, an NPO from Kochi, will kick start from May 19. The opening matches will be held at the Zesto football ground in Kadavanthara and the finals will be held at Maharajas College in Kochi.
Andrine explains that the game is as easy as it sounds.
"What's most appealing about the game is how casual it is. The entire duration of one game of bubble soccer is 10 minutes. Each team comprises 4 people. We have invited everyone, right from corporates to school kids, to come and participate. It is also a fun networking activity," Andrine added.
The matches, which begin tomorrow, allows for people to register for the sport. Friends or family groups interested in participating can still turn up and simply register for the games.
"There will be several teams who will be pitted against each other. We'll follow the knock-out system, with quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. From these games, the last team that survives will be named winner," Andrine added.
Only those who are 15 years or above can register for the games.
"We have invited school kids from Class 10 onwards to participate. We feel kids younger than this might not be able to play as the bubble suits are quite heavy and requires a bit of an effort to play it," he said.
A small registration fee would be charged to those who sign up. For details, click here.