Hilal Rasool’s enduring football journey

Srinagar, Aug 9: In Srinagar’s narrow alleys, when children were chasing dreams with tattered footballs, one boy dared to chase it further, all the way to the professional coaching fields of Japan. Hilal Rasool Parray, once a spirited goalkeeper in Kashmir, is today the region’s most decorated football coach and a living testament to what passion, persistence, and purpose can achieve.

The Spark: A Goalkeeper Is Born

Hilal Rasool’s tryst with football did not begin on a polished turf under the eyes of a scout. It began in the family courtyard. “My cousins, my elder brothers, they all played. Football was the language of our household,” he recalls. The boy with gloves was fast becoming the man with goals.

“Back then, we did not have televised matches or YouTube videos to watch,” Hilal laughs. “We played everything cricket, basketball, football but football always pulled me back. It was my brother Shaukat who saw the spark and introduced me to Majid Kakroo, who became my first real coach.”

Inspired by acrobatic state goalkeeper Iftikhar Ahmad and driven by a love for gymnastic movement, Hilal gravitated to goalkeeping. “I loved the flight, the leap, the rush of stopping a shot mid-air. It felt like flying.”

Climbing the Ranks: Player Who Dreamed Bigger

By the mid-90s, Hilal had donned almost every jersey Kashmir football had to offer: under-16, under-17, under-19, Federation Cup, Durand Cup, and the prestigious Santosh Trophy. But it was his decade-long stint as a goalkeeper and later captain of J&K Bank’s football team that truly defined him.

“We earned just Rs 1,800 back then,” he says. “But the real earning was the respect. We knew we were building something larger than ourselves.”

The turning point. A visit from Indian football icon Peter Thangaraj.

“He told us, ‘If you want to play football, live football. Walk it, breathe it, eat it.’ That changed everything. We stopped seeing it as sport, it became our way of life.”

Legacy: A Coach from Valley

In 2002, Hilal swapped his gloves for a clipboard and headed to Patiala’s National Institute of Sports to formally study coaching, a bold move in a region where most coaches were self-taught. By 2014, he had become the first person from North India to earn the AFC Pro License, training under Dutch World Cup player Wim Koevermans in Japan.

He returned not to bask in credentials but to build a pipeline, LoneStar Kashmir, Downtown Heroes, FC One, each club was more than a badge, it was a launchpad.

“We started Jammu and Kashmir’s first professional football academy under the bank. I just wanted to fix what we missed growing up, structure, professionalism, and belief.”

Players like Danish Farooq (Kerala Blasters) and Sohail Bhat (Mohun Bagan) would go on to become proof of concept. “In the last 8 years, we have produced more internationals than in the previous 30. That is the power of proper coaching.”

Vision: Beyond ISL, Towards World

Today, Hilal juggles his responsibilities as a senior officer in J&K Bank with dawn and dusk sessions on the pitch. But not for long.

“I am seriously considering early retirement. I want to dedicate myself fully to coaching,” he reveals. “Football has been my first love. I’ve stayed connected despite the job. Now I want to go all in. I want to die with my boots on.”

His next dream. An elite under-18 residential academy in Kashmir that can feed top leagues across Asia.

“Our boys should aim beyond the ISL,” he insists. “Look at the Arab League, Japan, Iran. A child from Kashmir, Brazil, or Japan, they all kick the ball the same. What separates them is ambition.”

A Legacy Passed On

When he is not instructing, Hilal says he still slips on his spikes. “You can’t show players how to turn into space from the sidelines,” he chuckles. “Sometimes, you have got to step in to show them how to do things practically.”

For many in Kashmir, Hilal Rasool is not just a coach, he is a mentor, a mirror to their potential.

“I have been lucky, to have mentors like Majid Kakroo, Gulzar sir, and to play alongside legends like Yusuf Dar and Khurshid Baba. I just did my part, like they did theirs.”

Final Words For Dreamers

“Dream loud. Work slowly. Let your stamina outlast your speed. Football is never just a game, it is a fight to be seen, to be heard.”