Woman who fought hunger with football: Seena’s journey from hardship to school textbook

KOCHI: At a time when other children were sitting down to eat, Seena would quietly move away and cry. There was little else she could do. Hunger had become part of her childhood, just as loneliness had.

Her father left when she was barely a year old. By the time she reached Class VIII, her mother and later her three siblings were gone. What remained was her elder sister, Deena, and a life shadowed by poverty and orphanhood.
But there was also a football.
And that football would eventually take Seena far beyond the hardships of her childhood — to the national and international stage, to a career as a coach and, now, into the Malayalam textbook for Plus One students.

At 56, the life of C.V. Seena, a native of Chalikavattom in Ernakulam, still revolves around the game that helped her rebuild her life.
Her mother, Karthyayani, worked as a daily-wage labourer until her death. While her mother was away at work, Seena would kick a ball around with children near their home. When she and her sister were left alone, their relative Ajitha Narayanan took them into her home and raised them.

Seena stepped onto the football field at the age of 11.
From school teams and clubs, she progressed to the district team. She later represented Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, shining in national and international competitions. Midfield was her preferred position.
Football eventually became more than a game. She chose not to marry and instead devoted her life to the sport.

In 2016, she ended her playing career. But she did not leave football behind. She had joined the GST department as a clerk in 2000 and went on to become a recognised coach, including with the Kerala Football Association. Today, she runs Seena’s Football Academy in Maradu and works as the football coach at Sree Narayana Public School, Thrippunithura.

Her journey from a childhood marked by hunger to the national and international football stage has now found another kind of recognition: the story of her life has entered the Plus One Malayalam textbook.
“From zero, I became a hero. I faced severe hardships and challenges to get a job and a home,” says C.V. Seena.

The journey behind those words stretches across decades.
In 1988, Sini was part of Kerala’s team at the National Senior Women’s Championship. A year later, she represented Kerala in the Federation Cup. In 1997, she was a member of the Indian team at a competition in Germany.
In 2000, she became a member of a West Bengal club in the I-League. She represented Hyderabad at the 2002 National Games and took part in the Senior Women’s National Championship in 2014.

Her journey on the other side of the touchline was equally significant.
In 2013, she was the Kerala coach at the Junior Girls National Championship. In 2021, she served as manager of the Kerala team that became national champions. In 2025, she took charge as head coach at the Asmita Cup in Bengaluru.
The girl who once moved away while her friends ate lunch had travelled a long way.
The football field had become the centre of a life that began in hunger and hardship and grew into one of national and international competition, coaching and recognition.
Now, her story has found its way into a classroom too.