My Alpha gang taught me that football is more than just goals

Indiafailed to reach the semi-finals after finishing third in Group A, and the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup came to an end on June 28. The young ‘alpha gang’ from my gated community was disappointed, the ‘girly gang’.

But they didn’t stay low for long. They quickly threw themselves into the FIFA World Cup matches and got deeply involved both in the matches and controversies surrounding them. I couldn’t catch up with them for a few days. But after the semi-finals, I finally met them during my evening walk. The moment I sat down on the cement bench the entire gang surrounded me. The first question they shot at me was, “Did you watch all the matches or only some?” As usual, Tamanna, the leader, was the most hyper. She started talking about the injustice done to the Egyptian team and declared, “Messi is no longer our hero”.

That’s when I realized the group was genuinely hurt by some of the World Cup incidents. I also understood that a new list of heroes is forming in their young minds.

On which player was in their new list of heroes, they said in unison “Erling Haaland”. “The Norwegian’s speed is insane, powerful, incredible,” they said. Anup added, “He is unstoppable. His celebration dance is unmatched. He’s taken over the internet. His memes are everywhere. He is the real winner of FIFA World Cup 2026. He does not waste his calories. He just runs—like an ostrich, head down, neck out”.

I loved their observation. They were clearly focusing on the right things.

Next on their list was Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper from Cape Verde, which was making their World Cup debut.

Rishi our society’s footballer called him “The Wall.” Even Messi is afraid of him as he is the only custodian who stood up to him, he declared. Messi faced Cape Verde in the Round of 32. Vozinha was the standout star, by foiling many of Messi’s bids. After the final whistle, Messi hugged him and said his country should be proud of him. Vozinha also won Player of the Match on June 15 after making 10 saves against Spain. Rishi shared one more fact that I didn’t know: a newly discovered species of sea slug is being named after Vozinha, who is presently one of the biggest social media stories of the World Cup.

Young Ashish had tears in his eyes when he made his announcement that he was now a fan of little Lewis. While the whole world was watching Messi, Ashish was watching something else entirely. Lewis a little boy, was watching his father— “his hero”—Nuno Da Costa. The Cape Vorde center-forward broke down after his team’s heartbreaking 2-3 loss to Argentina. Asish was almost choking as he described it. ‘Da Costa was overcome with emotion. Amid the heartbreak, his young son, along with his mother, ran on to the pitch, hugged his father, and wrapped his tiny arms around him to cheer up his hero.’ That moment of empathy and maturity from a child left a deep impression on Asish. A reminder of the human side of sports! Then Asish made a profound statement: Argentina fought to survive. The world will remember how close Cape Verde came to shocking the reigning champions.

Shipra quickly jumped in next. She said that she is eagerly waiting for the final, not for who wins, but to see her hero Lamine Yamal, Spain’s superstar soccer prodigy, face Messi. She spoke of the incredible twist of fate. Yamal’s journey briefly crossed paths with the Barcelona legend, when Yamal was just six months old. Messi was part of a UNICEF charity calendar shoot. Young Messi held and bathed baby Yamal. Shipra reflected on how they would face each other, ironically with both wearing the iconic No 10 jersey.

Listening to my Alpha gang, I knew they were heading in the right direction- with love, compassion, and concern for fellow human beings.

And then came their final statement in perfect chorus: “We would like to see the FIFA princess go home.”