Qatar 2022: Soccer mania grips southern Indian state of Kerala; Cutout war going on in full swing!

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Bengaluru, November 9: The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup kick off is less than a fortnight away and as is the case always, the southern Indian state of Kerala has been hit by football fever with a cutout war literally going on.

As per local media reports, football frenzy is peaking in ahead of the quadrennial extravaganza with huge cutouts of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo erected alongside a scenic river flowing through north Kerala district of Kozhikode have grabbed worldwide attention.

Soccer mania has gripped this southern state and fan pages, largely celebrating South American nations dominating the sport, have started going viral.

Even the game's global governing body -- FIFA -- tweeted a picture of the giant cutouts.

"#FIFAWorldCup fever has hit Kerala. Giant cutouts of Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi popped up on a local river ahead of the tournament," FIFA tweeted from their official handle.

Kerala, known for its love for football, caught the global attention last week when a group of Argentinian football team fans in Pullavoor village erected a 30-foot-tall cutout of Messi over a small islet in the river weeks ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

If Argentina is there, can Brazil be left behind? Keralite Brazil fans erected a 40-foot-tall cutout of Neymar along the banks of the river, spicing up the contest between the supporters of the two stars.

It did not take long for Messi and Neymar to be overshadowed by yet another over 45-foot tall Cristiano Ronaldo cutout wearing Portugal jersey. The fans have used his widely shared image of him preparing for a free kick at the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Even Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan thanked FIFA for "acknowledging our unmatched passion for the sport."

Kerala's love for football is "on full display" with the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup around, he tweeted.

Argentina National Football Team, an unverified Facebook page with over over 4.23 lakh Likes and followers, posted the image of Messi's cutout on November 1 which went viral.

Numerous fan pages, including that of Brazil, have shared the viral images.

A popular social media handle, @Advaidism, who is an ardent fan of Arsenal club, said the passion for football is so high in Kerala that before each FIFA world cup, half of the state supports Brazil while the other half will root for the Argentinian football team.

Kerala has produced many talented footballers like I M Vijayan, C V Pappachan, V P Sathyan and C K Vineeth. Today, the 'sevens' tournament football is very popular in Kerala, @Advaidism said.

The cutout mania has its critics too. A lawyer, who claims to be an activist, filed a complaint with the Chathamangalam panchayat to remove the structures claiming they might affect the natural flow of the river.

The location borders Chathamangalam panchayat and Koduvally Municipality. The Municipal authorities claim it is part of their territory. The local body authorities said they were not planning to remove the cut-outs.

Qatar 2022 will kick off on November 20 and the 29-day affair, the shortest World Cup in FIFA history, will conclude on December 18, which is incidentally the Qatar national Day.

In a break from tradition, FIFA has allowed a winter World Cup to avoid the summer temperature in Middle East.

Qatar 2022 will be held at eight venues with the final slated for the iconic Lusail Stadium.