page_title: Malappuram district
section_title: Sports
hierarchical_section_title: Malappuram district / Sports
caption_attribution_description: മലയാളം: മഞ്ചേരി സ്റ്റേഡിയം കോംപ്ലക്സ്
context_page_description: Malappuram is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of 70 km. It is the most populous district of Kerala, which is home to around 12.3% of the total population of the state. 44.2% of the district's population reside in the urban areas. The district was formed on 16 June 1969, spanning an area of about 3,554 km². It was formed by incorporating southern parts of the erstwhile district of Kozhikode and northwestern parts of the erstwhile Palakkad. It is the third-largest district of Kerala by area. It is also the largest district of Kerala bounded by Western Ghats and Arabian Sea on the eastern and the western borders respectively. It is the third major contributing district to the Gross Domestic Product of Kerala as of 2019, after Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram.
  The eastern part of the district is hilly and the western part is coastal region. Ponnani, Perinthalmanna, Tirur, Eranad, Tirurangadi, Kondotty, and Nilambur are the seven subdistricts included in the district. The economy of the district basically depends upon emigrants. Malayalam is the most spoken language. Religions practiced in the district include Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity.
context_section_description: Malappuram is also known as The Mecca of Kerala Football. The district has contributed many professional footballers. Malappuram District Sports Complex & Football Academy is situated at Payyanad in Manjeri. Kottappadi Football Stadium is a historical football stadium. Other major stadiums include the Rajiv Gandhi Municipal Stadium at Tirur, and the Perinthalmanna Cricket Stadium at Perinthalmanna. A synthetic track is there along with the Tirur Municipal Stadium. The Malabar Premier League was initiated in 2015 to strengthen the football in Malappuram. The Calicut University Synthetic Track at Thenhipalam is the apex synthetic track of the district. It is associated with the C. H. Mohammed Koya Stadium at Thenhipalam. The other major stadiums of district are at Areekode, Kottakkal, and Ponnani. A football hub to internationalize the eight major football stadiums of district is proposed. The district has also contributed professional sportsmen in the fields of the cricket and the athletics. The construction works of two new stadium complexes are being processed in Tanur and Nilambur.
caption: Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium
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