India U-16 football captain from Manipur saved his boots and certificates as house was burnt down | Football News

On the fateful morning of May 4 when young Ngamgouhou Mate had to vacate his uncle’s home along with the entire colony of Khongsai Veng in Imphal, he quickly threw in his football boots and academic certificates in his bag and left. But the 15-year-old, who recently captained India to the U16 SAFF Cup title in Bhutan, didn’t know that he would never return to the place where he had stayed for the last four years to pursue his dream in the Beautiful Game.
Khonsai Veng, a Kuki minority pocket in East Imphal, was gutted down mobs, just hours after Mate and his relatives left for a near school to seek shelter. “My uncle’s house was burnt down. We lost everything. The Scooty I used for travelling to practice at the club was also burnt down. I just packed my football boots and some documents and left. It was the place where my journey in football began but it’s no more,” Mate tells The Indian Express over a call from the Kangpopki drict of Manipur where he has been stranded since returning from Bhutan. However, Mate still practises regularly at the local ground and hits the gym as per his training routine.
The Mate-led side lifted the SAFF Cup on September 10, beating Bangladesh in the final. Even though engaged in national duty, Mate was constantly worried about his family’s safety back home. On the morning of the semifinal against Maldives, he received a message that his parents’ place at Pallel in the Tengnoupal drict was under attack. As per reports, Pallel saw fresh violence even last week.
“As soon as the match got over, I just ran to call my parents to check if they were okay. They had already fled the area,” says Mate. He hoped that things would calm down in a few days and he would be able to return home with his victory medal and celebrate.
“I thought I would go home and celebrate with my family. I have three elder sers and all of them are excellent cooks. They would have made pork and chicken for me. But the situation is still volatile so I am forced to stay here,” says Mate, who hasn’t met his family for over four months now.
The talented midfielder, who moved to his uncle’s house to train at Imphal’s Classic Football Academy, is mentored former India international Renedy Singh, also the club’s technical director. When Mate needed a conducive environment for training ahead of the June junior national trials, Renedy pulled out his contact l and arranged hostel and training facilities for Mate in Siliguri.
The Mate-led side lifted the SAFF Cup on September 10, beating Bangladesh in the final.
“Renedy sir has helped him a lot. He knows how talented my nephew is. He has mentored and guided him so far. He has been a great help,” says uncle Lhunkhosei, a pastor.
Nightmare
Young Mate and his uncle still vividly remember the details of May 4, when they had to flee. Around 1,500 people were huddled in the school compound where they anxiously waited for help to arrive.
“The Indian Army arrived before midnight and escorted us to the near Naga settlement. After we had left, the mobs attacked the school and burnt down all the vehicles parked in the compound. Later, someone sent me pictures of my locality and everything was burnt down. Everything…,” says Lhunkhosei.Most Read
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For Mate, that 3km walk to the neighbouring settlement will remain one of the most horrifying memories of his life. “We were really scared as we walked. We got to know our place was being burnt down. We were later taken to the barracks of the 2nd Assam Rifles where we stayed for a few days,” he says.

For Mate, who grew up playing and training with kids from the Meitei community, it is difficult to wrap his head around the hate and violence that is prevailing. He is hoping the unrest comes to an end as soon as possible so he can get back to regular practice at his club in Imphal.
“I have friends from the Meitei community at the club and we still talk regularly. We don’t discuss the conflict. We just ask things like, ‘Have you eaten food?’ It really hurts me to see what is happening at the moment,” says Mate.