The Third Front

The Imphal-based NGO, Ya.all's football team of 15 Trans men in Manipur a first of its kind in India, is setting new goals

- Ananya Swaroop

Beyond the climate crises, the underdeveloped infrastructure, and the many political conflicts, we know Manipur for its magnificent natural beauty and thriving arts and culture scene. Also, the northeast region of India is associated with sports. After producing legends like Mary Kom, Lovlina Borgohain, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, Bhaichung Bhutia, it has now bagged another feat that of having India's first trans men football team. The team was initially formed with six members in 2018 by Sadam Hanjabam, to challenge the patriarchal viewpoint that sports are just for two categories: men and women.

Ya.all is a north-east based NGO for queer people that started with a small WhatsApp group in 2017. Hanjabam created it as a support group for LGBTQIA+ people from the region. It grew bigger each day, and two years later, they registered as an organisation. According to Hanjabam, this group was also the reason behind the formation of the football team, which is now a 15-member troupe that practises every weekend to prove that sports are not just for the two genders.

But it was an epiphany that Hanjabam had during the 2018 Yaoshang Festival, often referred to as the 'Holi of Manipur', that kickstarted this football dream. "It is a five-day festival where many sporting events take place. Queer people did not feel safe joining in, and most of them were even pushed to the entertainment events like dance, singing, and other activities. There was no inclusive sports event for the LGBTQ community," he recalls.

As a reaction, he started the Queer Games in 2018. Today, this five-edition-old event is held a day before Holi, and has gotten media attention. So much so, that his personal story along with his football dream team landed Hanjabam on one of the episodes of the Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry-produced and hosted Apple TV+ show The Me You Can't See.