World Cup leaves Kerala fans sleepless

A picture of legendary former Indian footballer IM Vijayan wildly celebrating Argentina’s latest win against Egypt in the pre-quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup recently went viral on social media.

Mr. Vijayan, a devoted Argentina fan who fondly remembers playing football with Diego Maradona during a promotional event in Kannur as one of the greatest moments of his life, retired from professional football long ago and from the police service in 2025. Now he can afford to lose sleep over night games played in different time zones and catch up during the day.

But thousands of equally passionate fans in football-mad Kerala don’t enjoy that luxury, so they slog through school and work like sleep-deprived zombies.

“Many students, both boys and girls, are keenly following the World Cup. They stay awake in classes only because the teachers don’t let them sleep during classes. Their passion is evident in their enthusiastic participation in the World Cup-themed anti-drug campaign held in the school,” said Smitha Kurian, a teacher at SNDP Higher Secondary School, Udayamperoor, Ernakulam.

Saturday (July 11, 2026) marks a month since the start of the FIFA World Cup, and luckily for sleep-deprived fans, it’s only a week away. During the group stage, matches were scheduled back-to-back from midnight to early morning, leaving football fans with almost no sleep.

Kichu George, a paediatrician, said he had not seen an increase in cases of sleep deprivation among children in connection with the World Cup. “This is probably because children up to a certain age only watch their favorite teams and can skip school at most the day after a game. It is unlikely that their parents make them stay up late often or miss school often,” he added.

However, technical professionals were probably the least affected because they are used to working across time zones. “To some extent, it has been a blessing for the football fans among us. Many of us work overnight and the timing of the matches really suited us,” said Aneesh Panthalani, state president of Progressive Techies, an IT workers’ collective.

As World Cup-related sleep deprivation is seasonal, its long-term impact is likely to be minimal. However, there may be temporary behavioral problems. “Sleep-deprived people can become irritable and angry at the slightest provocation. This can affect productivity and concentration in schools and offices. However, many try to compensate by taking short daytime naps to balance the sheer joy of pursuing their passion,” said psychiatrist CJ John.

Published – 12 Jul 2026 01:35 IST