ISL 2017: Kerala Blasters' Manjappada beat West Block Blues to clinch Fan Club of the Year award at Indian Sports Honours

What’s the story?

Manjappada Kerala Blasters Fans, which is the biggest supporter community of Indian Super League (ISL) side Kerala Blasters, beat tough competition from Bengaluru FC supporters group, West Block Blues to win the Fan Club of the Year award, held under the aegis of Indian Sports Honours on Saturday.

In case you didn’t know

Indian Sports Honours award was founded by RP-SG group in partnership with Virat Kohli foundation and its glamorous inaugural edition is being held in Mumbai on Saturday.

The heart of the matter

Apart from the two ISL fan groups, two other set of fans – Bharat Armay and Namma Team were nominated for the particular award. The common people were asked to vote for one of the groups through the Facebook page of Indian Sports Honours.

While all the fan groups have huge number of members who are every passionate about the particular sport they follow, Manjappada emerged victorious on the basis of social media votes to take the crown home.

What’s next?

Indian Sports Honours award have set a landmark in India. It brought together sportspersons from different disciplines under one roof while the glitz and glamour was the icing on the cake. This was the first time in Indian sporting history that a fan base’s contribution was acknowledged and this phenomenon can only get better from here on.

Author’s take

Manjappada and West Block Blues are two of the best fan bases of the country and that’s why they were nominated for this award. It’s true that the silverware has gone to Kerala, but one can be rest assured that West Block Blues will take it on their chins and fight back with innovation and passion to clinch the silverware in the upcoming year.

It’s heartening to see fan groups getting the same recognition as sportspersons because at the end of the day, sports is nothing without spectators.