Tahsin jamsheed

For generations of Malayalis, the FIFA World Cup has been a month-long festival. Villages and towns across Kerala transform into miniature football capitals every four years, with giant cut-outs of global stars, midnight screenings and fierce debates over Brazil, Argentina and Germany becoming part of the state's cultural landscape. This time, however, football-crazy Kerala will have something it has never had before, one of its own on the World Cup stage.

In a historic first for the state, Kannur-origin footballer Tahsin Mohammed Jamsheed has been named in Qatar's 26-member squad for the FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Malayali ever to make the final squad for the FIFA World Cup.