Deep in the forested hills of Jharkhand, the village of Tirilbasa hosted a football tournament unlike any other, where the prize for victory was not a trophy but a live goat.
A tribal twist on the beautiful game
The event, called Rangila Star Tirilbasa, gathered teams from 64 villages of the Ho tribe, each side composed of nine players drawn from the same settlement, and the competition abandoned the offside rule to keep the game fluid.
Winners walked away with a cash stipend and a goat known locally as a khassi, an animal that holds ceremonial weight and whose meat is shared in communal feasts, reinforcing social bonds.
The Ho people, an Austro‑asiatic tribe native to the Chaibasa area, have long practiced the Munda‑Manki governance system, a framework that safeguards their legal and cultural rights; the tournament became a living showcase of that tradition.
From isolation to a football hotspot
Once cut off from the rest of India by Maoist insurgency, Chaibasa has transformed into a bustling town where schools, markets and stadiums now coexist, turning the region into an unexpected football hotspot.
Local heroes such as Malati Munda, who captured national attention, and content creator Harish Hembram, who monetizes his YouTube channel, illustrate how grassroots tournaments can launch ordinary villagers into overnight fame.
Grassroots fame and future prospects
Documentarian Sandeep Menon has traveled across the country recording these micro‑leagues, highlighting a love for the game that defies the stereotype that India is not a football nation.
Beyond the scores, the tournament serves as a reminder that sport can be a conduit for cultural preservation, economic opportunity and unity, a lesson that resonates far beyond the borders of Jharkhand.