On Friday, Kerala mourned the loss of its first woman football coach and former football star Fousiya Mampatta. Fifty-two-year-old Fousiya was training young girls in football as a Kerala State Sports Council Coach, all the while battling cancer. Fousiya trained students of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Nadakkavu, her alma mater.
The spirited football star was initiated into the sport right in her school days. However, her expertise was not limited to just football: Fousiya was a state champion in weight lifting and had even won a bronze medal in the south Indian championship, before pursuing football. She was also a member of the state handball team, according to reports. She was also a member of the Kerala state hockey and volleyball teams, and won several medals in Judo.
Hailing from Velimadukunnu in Kozhikode, Fousiya first caught the attention of Kerala’s football lovers after her performance at the National Games, although the Kerala team lost the final 1-0. Later, Fousiya also headed the state team, which came third in the Senior Women’s National Championship held in Manipur in 2005. She was also assistant coach of the Kerala team, who bagged the runners up prize in the national championship held in Odisha in 2006.
After joining as coach at the Nadakkavu Government Girls HSS, she trained the school team, which went on to win the Subroto cup in 2014-2015.
In 2007, Fousiya also founded the Kozhikode Women's Football Club which trained several national and international players. In the same year, she joined Calicut University as the women’s football coach. In 2017, she was also the assistant coach for MG University’s women football team.
Fousiya took up her job as coach at the Nadakkavu school way back in 2003. Later, she was also appointed Kozhikode district team coach.
Fousiya’s parents hail from Tirur in Malappuram, but the family shifted base to Kozhikode after she was appointed coach by the district special council.