Climate Change is Changing the Rules of Football in Kolhapur

In Kolhapur, football is more than a game. It is woven into the social and cultural life of this western Maharashtra city, where neighbourhood clubs have nurtured generations of players. But the football grounds that have sustained this sporting tradition are increasingly at the mercy of changing weather patterns. Rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and extreme downpours are disrupting training schedules, testing players’ endurance and imposing additional financial burdens, particularly on young footballers from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The changing climate is beginning to reshape the way Kolhapur plays its favourite sport.

Kolhapur’s passion for football dates back to well before Independence and remains as strong as ever. Across the city’s lanes and alleys, talims — small neighbourhood clubs — continue to thrive. According to the Kolhapur Sports Association (KSA), the city has more than 120 football clubs, with around 1,500 players associated with Kolhapur’s football community, including those competing at local, national and international levels.

In recent years, however, adverse and unpredictable weather has created new challenges for a sport deeply embedded in the city’s social and cultural life. Rising temperatures, sudden and repeated rainfall, floods and extreme downpours are forcing players and coaches to rework their training schedules.

The most noticeable effect of the changing weather is the rising heat on Kolhapur’s football grounds. Players who have trained here for years say that practising at times once considered comfortable now places them under intense physical strain. As a result, everything from training schedules to hydration must be carefully planned. Football is a 90-minute game, and players need enough energy to perform until the final whistle. When their bodies are already under excessive heat stress during training, their preparation and performance can suffer.

The change is evident in the experience of Prithvi Lalasaheb Gaikwad, a woman footballer who has been involved in the sport for 20 years and now works as a coach. “The weather and conditions for football 15 to 20 years ago were very different. Earlier we used to practise even in the harsh afternoon sun, and it did not seem to affect our bodies this badly. But now the situation has changed.”

Gaikwad says coaches must now take extra precautions when training children and women players during Kolhapur’s hot summer months. Players tire quickly, sometimes after just an hour of practise, and are more susceptible to dehydration. As a result, coaches can no longer rely on afternoon sessions as they once did and increasingly schedule training in the morning or evening. They must also pay closer attention to players’ diets and water intake.

Yuvraj Dnyandev Patane has played football since 1998 and has coached at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Peth Football Academy since 2019. He says unpredictable weather is affecting not only players’ health but also the consistency of their training.

“The sun is much harsher than it used to be. Frequent weather changes strain players’ bodies. Four days of rain, then a sudden burst of harsh sun, and the players’ stamina and immunity fall,” Patane says.

During the monsoon, training on wet, heavy ground requires greater effort, which can help players build strength and stamina. However, when heavy rain makes the ground unusable, maintaining a consistent training schedule becomes difficult. Tournament dates remain fixed, so every day lost to bad weather reduces preparation time.

Younger players from modest backgrounds are particularly affected. They may not be able to afford to travel to another ground or arrange additional training elsewhere. When their local ground closes, their training often stops altogether. The consequences of changing weather are thus compounded by existing economic inequalities.

In a city like Kolhapur, where playing grounds are scarce, damage to even one ground can disrupt training for several teams. Rising temperatures pose another challenge, increasing the risk of heat stress among players.

According to Dr Vishal Kumar Zapte, a sports physiotherapist who has practised in Kolhapur for the past 15 years, excessive water loss is the biggest threat rising temperatures pose to footballers. “When temperatures rise, players suffer from dehydration. It affects their stamina and strength. A football match lasts 90 minutes. But once the body’s water level drops, a player tires quickly, and his decision-making can also be affected,” he says.

The effects of dehydration extend beyond performance on the field. An imbalance in the body’s water levels can cause muscle cramps and increase the risk of injury. According to Dr Zapte, repeated dehydration can disrupt young players’ training and jeopardise their future in the sport.

In Dr Zapte’s view, as weather patterns become more unpredictable, greater attention must be paid to training schedules, hydration, electrolyte management and prehabilitation measures aimed at preventing injuries. “We don’t have to stop playing football, but the way we play must adapt to the changing weather,” he says.

As changing weather reshapes football training in Kolhapur, players also bear the financial burden. Using alternative grounds, travelling longer distances to train during cooler hours, and spending more on nutrition and hydration all increase costs. Players from better-off families may find it relatively easy to adapt, but those from rural areas or lower-income families face a much greater challenge.

The story of Prathamesh Hanumant Sagar, who travels from Atpadi in neighbouring Sangli district to train in Kolhapur, illustrates this reality. Talent alone is not enough to reach the highest level. As Prathamesh explains, financial constraints can stand in the way of even the most determined young players:

“Now the thing with players is that not everyone has a strong financial background. So even if you want to improve your game, spending that much from your own pocket is not possible for boys like us. Parents also don’t have that kind of money to back us.”

The pressures experienced by Kolhapur’s footballers must also be viewed against the broader changes in Maharashtra’s climate. According to the India Meteorological Department’s 2024 climate report for Maharashtra, the state’s annual average temperature was 26.19 degrees Celsius, 0.49 degrees above the 1991–2020 average. More strikingly, the average minimum temperature rose by 0.81 degrees, indicating that not only days but nights were warmer than the long-term average. The report also found that 21 of Maharashtra’s 36 districts received 20 to 59 per cent more rainfall than average in 2024.

These broader climatic shifts have serious implications for football in Kolhapur. When changing weather repeatedly forces players to alter the timing, intensity or location of their practice, the effects extend beyond a single training session. For a player preparing for the demands of a 90-minute match, such disruptions can affect long-term fitness, preparation and performance.

For Kolhapur’s footballers, adapting to changing weather is no longer simply a matter of adjusting training hours. It increasingly involves questions of access to playing grounds, the affordability of training and the physical limits of endurance. In a city where football has long been sustained by neighbourhood clubs and young players with limited resources, climate change threatens to deepen inequalities that already shape sporting opportunities. The game continues, but the conditions under which it is played are changing.

The story is part of the Mentee Programme at the Climate Change Media Hub of the Asian College of Journalism. This programme is supported by Interlink Academy.