Jeje Lalpekhula is one of the hottest football player on the block and his rise to fame makes for a very compelling story. Jeje was born in Mizoram to a sports fanatic family. His father played for the local clubs while his uncle represented Mizoram in the Santosh Trophy (one of the national level competitions in India).
So like most of the kids in Mizoram, it was natural for Jeje to pick up a ball and start playing football.
As far as infrastructure is concerned, sports facilities were next to nil in most of India (even now), but imagine a place like Mizoram -having a proper ground with all the requisite facilities was a far cry. But Jeje was totally nonchalant about all this and displayed such a penchant for the game that he soon began to get recognized both in the local and national arena. He was a star performer in the Wai Wai cup held in Mizoram.
On account of brilliant performance and skills, he became part of the Under-19 Mizoram team and hasn’t looked back ever since. From then he went on to captain the India U19 team in the South Asian Games.
Scouts are always on the lookout for good players and it came as no surprise that he was spotted by Goa scouts and signed up with the Pune Football Club at the age of 16 and played in 2009 I-League 2nd Division.
For the inaugural ISL season in 2014, Jeje played for Chennaiyin (loaned from Mohun Bagan) and 
emerged as the top scoring Indian player with 4 goals.
Based on his exemplary performance, he signed a 2-year contract with Chennaiyin in 2015 ISL season. In the second season of ISL he scored 6 goals and did his bit to ensure Chennaiyin lifts the 2015 trophy and was eventually awarded the Emerging Player of the Season.
For the 2016 ISL Season, he has scored 2 goals so far with multiple assists and forms a part of the core Chennaiyin offense.
In 2011, he made his debut for the Indian National Football Team in the 2012 AFC Cup qualification against Chinese Taipei and scored once. He played an important part in other AFC qualification matches.
Mizoram aka as the Football State
Over the past few years and especially because of players like Jeje, Mizoram has become a hotbed for churning out quality football players. Almost every I-league club team features players from the state.
The football infrastructure in Mizoram has evolved a lot – credit goes to the sports officials as well as the plyers. Now talented players can graduate from inter-village tournaments played in each of Mizoram’s eight districts, to playing in the Mizoram Premier League (MPL).
“My hometown didn’t have even one decent playground. Most times, I ended up playing on hard grounds that got slushy during the rain. Players were at a risk of injury as well as infection,” recalls Jeje.
Teaming up with Mama, his childhood friend Lalrindika Ralte and Robert Lalthlamuana, both of whom play for Atletico de Kolkata, Jeje donates money and football kits to the HIV-affected in Mizoram.
Still, Mizoram’s footballers cannot fight their topography. The mountainous state is prone to landslides and the chances of finding a natural football ground are slim. Five years after the government set up the first artificial turf in 2011, the number of turfs is just five.
Under such circumstances it is quite commendable that players of such caliber are emerging from Mizoram and credit goes to the players, officials and the entire community without which it would be impossible to overcome such odds.
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