India’s first transgender football club desires inclusion and equality

Takhellambam Diya was worried when he first arrived at the football ground six months ago. Diya had just received a chance to play as central midfielder, a role he relished as it allowed him to boss around the pitch as a playmaker. Outside the ground, however, it was a different story for Diya, a transgender man.
“It has been six months since I joined Ya_All Sports Club,” says Diya, a resident of the Wangoi Thounaojam Leikai neighbourhood in Manipur’s Imphal West district. “I was initially concerned about the gender bias against transgender people in sports, but not anymore,” he beams.
Among the first to arrive for training at the ground of the Langthabal Sporting Club in Imphal West, Diya has worked hard as a member of the Ya_All Sports Club, India’s first football club of transgender players, to battle discrimination and raise awareness about gender justice and equality.
“It’s difficult to bring up the issue of gender inclusion before people,” says Sadam Hanjabam, who founded Ya_All, a support group for the LGBTQ community in Manipur, seven years ago. “But Manipur has a special attachment to football and the society doesn’t tend to judge people if they are wearing a jersey,” adds Hanjabam, a resident of Imphal, the capital of Manipur known for its passion for the Beautiful Game.
“Instead of sitting in closed rooms and talking about our problems, we decided to go out to stadiums and play football,” explains Hanjabam about the origins of Ya_All Sports Club formed entirely of transgender male players. “Football is more than just a game in our state. People feel that if someone is playing football, they are contributing to society,” he adds.
The first match in the country between two teams of transgender players took place in Imphal in March, 2018. “It was a friendly match between one team of transgender men and the other of transgender women,” recalls Hanjabam. The unprecedented event served as a testing ground before Ya_All would formally declare the formation of a football club of transgender players two years later.

Ya_All, a sound that means revolution in Manipuri language, became a LGBTQ support group in the North East region, interestingly from a private WhatsApp group of three to four people. “People from the North East migrate to other states for education and jobs and to have a safer space to express themselves,” says Hanjabam. “But whenever we came back home, we had to hide our gender identities.”
In 2014, the Supreme Court recognised transgender as ‘third gender’, affirming constitutional rights and making discrimination a violation of right to equality and freedom of expression while calling for public awareness programmes to tackle stigma. Five years later, Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act to uphold the rights and welfare of transgender people.
Around the same time, Hanjabam and his friends slowly built an open organisation for inclusive interaction of young people affected by gender inequalities, mental health, HIV and armed conflict in the region. “We have been able to reach out to a lot of people in the North East,” says Hanjabam, who was featured along with singer-actor Lady Gaga and actor Glenn Close in the 2021 Apple TV + documentary on mental health, The Me You Can’t See, hosted by Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry.
Football became a medium for articulating their issues and ideas soon. “We use football to talk about health and livelihoods, to advocate all issues we are facing,” says Hanjabam. In 2018, Ya_All organised its first Queer Games in Imphal, now an annual event that allows the LGBTQ community in the North East to meet and communicate with the society.
Six years after it played its first game, Ya_All Sports Club today has 20 members, who train at least twice a week and play friendly matches against football clubs in Manipur.
“Being in a community of fellow trans men has allowed me to embrace my authentic identity and engage in open, fun interactions,” says Chanu Yaiphabi Sanasam, a resident of Mongshangei Makha Leikai in Imphal, who joined Ya_All Sports Club in January 2022.
“My experience in the club has significantly increased my awareness about gender, sexuality and mental health. It has taught me the importance of pronouns and advocating for my rights,” says Sanasam. “The club’s efforts in increasing visibility for trans people within the society is commendable.”
Reclaiming space in the playground has been one of Ya_All’s major achievements since its foundation in 2017. “Earlier, people used to look at us with amusement. But when they see us training and playing together, they see strength in us and understand that we are not alone,” says Hanjabam. “We are breaking the stereotypes one at a time.”
Friendly matches with football clubs and school teams have helped in increasing awareness. Discrimination, Ya_All Sports Club members feel, is more out of ignorance and misinformation rather than hate. The club has certified coaches and players who have been members of women’s football clubs before they understood their gender identity.
The fact that Ya_All Sports Club is the country’s only football club for transgender players is holding the club back from further progress. “We want others to be inspired by our story and create more teams for transgender players,” says Hanjabam, who understands it is a long road for the transgender community. “Sports is not neutral. It is binary and discriminatory when it comes to gender.”