Indian Football: How Madras Super Cup is playing a role in grassroots development

The 2026 edition had six categories: four for boys and two for girls.

On a chilly November evening, vehicles streamed through the outskirts of Mahabalipuram -- some carrying tourists, others labourers and daily commuters. But nestled in Nallan Pillai Petral village, floodlights illuminated an area clearly visible from a distance against the night sky.

And it wasn't even a professional football game.

"This Madras Super Cup is an amateur tournament, which is in its fourth season now. We have matches for boys and girls across several levels, but all are under-18," Shanmugam Venkatesh, the technical director of FC Madras and former India captain, tells Sportstar.

FC Madras, founded in 2018, is a five-star-rated academy accredited by the All India Football Federation. It has been organising the Madras Super Cup since 2023 and has seen over 800 budding footballers compete across 72 teams from three countries.

"The intention of this tournament has always been clear: to provide an early idea of how professional setups work in football. And we do have our cadets, but the visual perception also helps, especially for parents who have limited ideas about grassroots development," he adds.

The 2026 edition of the Madras Super Cup had six categories: four for boys and two for girls. Boys competed in under-11, under-13 and under-15 football and under-18 futsal, while girls competed in under-17 football and women's futsal.

"We have come all the way from Dombivli, Mumbai. It is an amazing place, and in Mumbai, we do not have grass grounds (like this). We have turf or mud grounds," says Shabbir Mahuwala, who is here with his son Abbas, who played for Mega Pro Academy's under-13 team.

Abbas scored a hat-trick against FC Panther and helped his side win the tournament, beating MH Orange FA 3-2 in the final. The same academy also won the under-11 title, and Shabbir was an animated supporter during all the finals.

"I have never been into football. I used to watch only a few matches in the World Cup or any games to see Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. But after my kid got interested in the game, I started enjoying it. Now, we watch La Liga and the Premier League together," Shabbir explains.

The tournament was played in a special format of 40 minutes -- 20 minutes in each half -- and the look and feel of the Super Cup was a mix of football fandom and the visual imagery of what children can aspire to become.

On the right, young boys and girls played in the Madras Super Cup on a hybrid pitch, while on the left, the under-20 side of FC Madras trained, played small-sided games and geared up for the Reliance Foundation Developmental League on a synthetic surface.

Loud shouts urging players to get behind the ball, dew sparkling on the surface and the low thuds of the ball bouncing -- the young players could see what they could aspire to achieve through a career in the sport.

"Some of our players can actually give Indian Super League players a run for their money. I was once the under-20 coach of the national team. I think some of those here are very promising," Venkatesh adds.

In the stands, it felt like an inter-school sports day -- kids singing 'Waka Waka', the 2010 FIFA World Cup theme song, some chanting, "We don't care, we are No. 1", and others sitting with their eyes glued to the game. Some scouts sat with notepads, scribbling names, while others pointed to particular players or tracked the tournament and players on their smartphones and laptops.

And it wasn't just a boys' tournament.

"We have come here for the first time, and I feel that not only winning, but losing is also a part of the game," says Namrata, a player for Anantapur Sports Academy, which finished runner-up in the under-17 girls' tournament. "The exposure here was amazing, and I think women's football in India is growing a lot."

Alakhpura FC won the under-17 girls' title, while Bihar State Sports Authority clinched the under-15 boys' title, beating Arabian Strikers 5-1 in the final. "We feel amazing - the passing, the coordination, everything was very nice. But we want to do more," says Raj Kumar, who hails from Motihari.

"We want to get outside India. It does feel great to play here and have this trophy, but we want to develop in Europe and take Indian football ahead."

In futsal, Renown Sports Club from Sri Lanka clinched the boys' title, beating XIFT Academy in the final, while Indian Women's League side Sethu FC outshone Alakhpura to secure the women's trophy.

The floodlights in Nallan Pillai Petral may be nearly 70 kilometres from Chennai, but the Madras Super Cup has begun attracting teams from across India and beyond. For FC Madras, the ambition is to make that journey even longer and give more young footballers a glimpse of what lies ahead.