Genial footballer recalls finest moments with Kerala Police team as he is set to hang up police boots

Former Indian footballer I. M. Vijayan's illustrious career as a police officer and footballer, now focused on coaching and reviving Kerala Police team.

When I. M. Vijayan, the former Indian footballer, first donned the khaki as a police constable—then known as the post of civil police officer—back in 1987, the arrival of the sinewy 18-year-old had largely gone unnoticed.

In stark contrast, when he hangs up his police boots on Wednesday (April 30, 2025)—having been promoted to deputy commandant of the Malabar Special Police just a day earlier in recognition of his contributions to Indian and Kerala football—his 38-year-long career, intrinsically linked to his meteoric rise as one of the best footballers India has ever produced, is being celebrated. Some of his finest performances on the football pitch came in the jersey of the Kerala Police team during its golden era.

Since taking leave from the force in 1991, shortly after winning the coveted Federation Cup for the second successive year, Mr. Vijayan has played for many renowned football clubs across the country—such as Mohun Bagan, East Bengal, JCT Mills Phagwara, FC Cochin, and Churchill Brothers—not to mention the national team. But he never quite felt the same camaraderie he had enjoyed with the Kerala Police team.

“Winning the Federation Cup against Salgaocar Football Club in 1990, and then against Mahindra & Mahindra the very next year with that Kerala Police team, remains one of the best memories on a football pitch,” Mr. Vijayan recollects. The fall of that legendary police team from glory has hurt him to this day. But he understands it. “We no longer produce players of that quality,” he says longingly.

What followed that historic double was a long sabbatical from the force to pursue his football dreams. After hanging up his football boots, he returned to the police force as an assistant sub-inspector in 2010. A double promotion later, he became a circle inspector, and after another round of promotion, he was posted as Assistant Commandant in the Malabar Special Police in 2021.

In between, he actively pursued a film career in both Malayalam and Tamil. Ironically, though, the real-life cop mostly got to play hateful villains on screen.

With the responsibilities of being a police officer no longer shackling him, the affable footballer-turned-cop has set his eyes firmly on his first love, football. He dreams of setting up a football academy someday and is in talks with the government. He is also keen on reviving the fortunes of the Kerala Police team, which now boasts a few players who have already represented the State in the Santosh Trophy.