Anya Amiatka Kharmyndai
Shillong, Aug 23: For a father, watching his child chase a dream thousands of kilometres away can be both difficult and deeply fulfilling. For Mekhamkhraw Nongrem’s father, every match his son plays is more than a football game. It is a reminder of how far a childhood passion has taken his son and, above all, a blessing he believes God has given his family.
The family comes from Mairang, a remote corner of Meghalaya in Eastern West Khasi Hills District, far from the state’s main footballing centres. From there, Mekhamkhraw’s journey has taken him to Minerva Football Club and, eventually, to international youth tournaments in Europe.
His father begins by thanking God for blessing the family with two children, a daughter and a son. To him, his son’s footballing ability is another blessing and a talent that deserves to be nurtured.
He first noticed something different when Mekhamkhraw was just five years old. “I never imagined that my son would want to play football,” he recalls.
What started unexpectedly gradually developed into a journey that took his son from home in Mairang to Minerva Football Club and eventually to tournaments overseas. His move to Minerva remains one of the most significant moments in the family’s journey. But when the time came for his son to leave home, there was little a father could do except pray.
“Before he left, as a father, I could only pray for him,” he says.
The uncertainty did not end when Mekhamkhraw reached Minerva. During the trials, his father remembers the anxiety of waiting for news. He stayed at the same hotel as another father whose son was also undergoing the trials, and the two spent their time worrying about how their children were doing.
“I remember we were both worried for our kids,” he says.
For Mekhamkhraw’s father, however, football has never been only about winning matches or lifting trophies. He credits Minerva with giving his son the guidance, training and opportunities to develop as a footballer and compete at increasingly higher levels, including tournaments in Europe.
Seeing his son play in Europe has been particularly special. For a father from Mairang, watching his child compete on one of football’s biggest stages is something he never imagined when Mekhamkhraw first picked up the sport.
Yet he is rarely able to watch those moments in person.
While his son is on the pitch thousands of kilometres away, his father is often sitting in his shop in Mairang, following the match on his mobile phone. “I would watch his matches on my mobile while sitting in my shop,” he says.
The distance may be vast, but those moments still make him feel connected to his son.
“I feel so blessed and content to see my own son,” he says.
One moment, in particular, remains etched in his memory.
When Mekhamkhraw scored his first goal at the Helsinki Cup 2026, the significance went far beyond the goal itself. For his father, it was a moment that seemed to bring together years of hope, sacrifice and prayer.
“When I saw his goal, it was his first goal, I cried out of happiness and thanked my God for His blessings through my son’s talent,” he recalls.
He could not hold back his tears. He bowed down and prayed, seeing the moment as an answer to the prayers he had carried since his son first began playing football.
There is, however, one thing he wishes he could change: being there to watch his son play in person.
He would love to travel abroad, sit in the stands and watch Mekhamkhraw play with his own eyes. But for a family with limited financial means, travelling overseas is not an easy possibility.
“We can’t afford to go out there,” he says.
So the family watches from home, following their son through a mobile phone screen. It may not be how they imagined experiencing his journey, but technology has allowed them to share in moments that would otherwise have remained far away.
For his father, the distance has done little to diminish his pride. “Yes, of course I do feel proud,” he says emphatically.
But beneath that pride is also a sense of perspective. He knows that Mekhamkhraw’s journey is only beginning and that there will be challenges ahead.
He compares his son’s progress to a seed.
“This is just the beginning. It’s just a seed that he’s sowing right now, which he needs to care for and grow so that the family will see him bearing good fruits,” he says.
It is perhaps the most fitting way to describe the journey so far. From a five-year-old boy in Mairang whose father never imagined he would pursue football seriously, Mekhamkhraw has grown into a young player competing on international stages.
There will be more matches, more opportunities and inevitably more setbacks. His father knows that.
For now, though, he is content to watch from wherever he can, often from his shop in Mairang with a phone in his hand, and to celebrate every milestone from afar.
