[3] It was introduced to the land of Kerala during the pre-independence period by British officers of the Malabar Special Police (MSP) in the 20th century.

MSP was camped in Malappuram and soon the natives began adopting the sport, which was mostly played in post-harvest paddy fields.

[4] Kerala enjoyed a golden age from 1985 to 1995 by making it to Santhosh Trophy finals seven times consecutively, and football became an iconic sport ever since in the south Indian state.

[6] Kerala state football team appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals 15 times and won the trophy 7 times, latest in 2022 by defeating Bengal in the final on 2 May at the Payyanadu Stadium in Malappuram.

Famous international footballers including Ronaldinho,[11] Maradona,[12] Roberto Carlos,[13] Thomas Tuchel[14] visited Kerala for different reasons.

[17] They have appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals once, and were the runners-up at their maiden attempt at the 2005–06 Senior Women's National Football Championship edition against the reigning champions Manipur at Rourkela.