How Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram is soaking in the spirit of FIFA World Cup 2026
As the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup is days away from the finale, the excitement has reached a fever pitch with the semifinals
As the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup is days away from the finale, the excitement has reached a fever pitch with the semifinals scheduled for July 15 and 16. The mood is no different in Technopark, the IT hub. Even before kickoff itself, the companies had gone all out to celebrate the football jamboree. Besides decorating their bays with team flags, huge cut-outs of popular players found a place in corridors and cafes of most companies. Photo-booths were set up; predication contests too were held. Almost all companies had Jersey Day — a day for their employees to turn up in the jersey of their favourite teams. Among them were Allianz Services, UST and IBS Software. Several in-house events were also organised on this day. For example, the entire UST campus featured football-themed decorations. There were life-size cut-outs of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Neymar Jr, Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala, Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne. “We also organised a series of football-themed challenges. A highlight was the presence of professional football freestyler Jasim Ahamed, who pepped up the proceedings with his skill. The celebrations wound up with exhibition matches for men and women,” says a statement from UST.
Besides the decked-up bays and corridors, IBS Software started the proceedings with a photo-booth adorned with flags of all participating teams. The replica of the World Cup trophy was placed in the booth against the backdrop of a photograph of a stadium. “We had a selfie/reel contest — the employees could shoot selfies or reels at the booth and post on our in-house social media platform. The ones who got the most likes walked away with a prize. We also had a penalty shootout challenge, held over four days at four different locations. Employees had to take a shot from a 15-foot distance to the goalpost, with their backs turned towards it. Each person had five chances, and the top scorers moved to the next round. If the score was tied in the final round, winners were chosen through sudden death. They walked away with gift vouchers,” says Smitha Devaraj, lead product consultant at the company. It was Jersey Day on the campus today (July 14); a football-based offline quiz was also held at their cafe. Four teams, with four members, named Argentina, France, Portugal, and Cape Verde were in the fray. “Each team had its cheering squad also.
Funds were allocated to them to buy props and accessories. Prizes were given away to the best of the lot,” Smitha adds. Meanwhile, Prathidhwani, the welfare organisation of the employees, organised a fans’ tournament a few days ago. Participating teams were Argentina, Brazil, Portugal and the Rest of the World. “We formed WhatsApp groups for each team, and the fans could join. Argentina had the most fans! It was a Sevens tournament and with so many talented players around choosing the final list was not easy,” says Rajith VP, sports forum convener of Prathidhwani. The 20-minute games started with the semifinal, and it was Brazil which walked away with the trophy. He adds that Prathidhwani’s annual Sevens tournament will begin on July 30. “Last time we had 101 teams. The number is bound to go up this time. The tournament will run for a few months. There is also a Fives tournament for women’s teams,” he says. As in the previous years, Prathidhwani will organise live screenings of the semifinals and final at the Amphitheatre. “We had a huge turnout last time even though there was heavy downpour. Employees watched the games carrying their umbrellas. The vibe was unbelievable,” Rajith adds.
The BriefWire