Feb 18 2026 to Feb 18 2026 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

What is India’s style of football?

It’s a question most people have never thought to ask. Sandeep Menon decided to find out. He travelled through India’s football heartlands, from the hills of the northeast to the coasts of Kerala to the flatlands of Bengal, searching for the game beneath the game. He mapped our country through its football culture in his book, Sacred Grounds: The Journey Through People’s Football in India.

In this talk, Sandeep brings those stories to life. The local heroes nobody outside their village has heard of. The formats (Sevens, Khep, Basti tournaments) that have their own rules, their own rituals, their own worlds. The communities for whom football isn’t a sport so much as a language.

This is football as identity, as belonging, as something worth fighting to keep alive.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A. Bring your questions.

Speaker

Sandeep Menon
Author & Journalist
Sandeep Menon is a journalist, author and educator working in Bengaluru. An automobile engineer by training, he spent over a decade as a sports correspondent for Deccan Herald, Times of India and Deccan Chronicle. He also wrote on culture, gender, movies, and music. He co-founded one of India’s oldest podcast focused on Indian football called Injury Time.

He now works as the senior editorial manager at the Office of Communications, Indian Institute of Science while teaching as a guest lecturer in various institutions and writing for multiple outlets.

His first book was about the history of the football club in Bengaluru called Out of the Blue: Bengaluru FC’s 10-Year Odyssey, was released in April 2025. His most recent work is Sacred Grounds: A Journey Through People’s Football in India. The book focuses on various football cultures across the country and the sport’s link to society, geography, religion, politics and culture of the region.