Thread by @Paperclip_In

Once upon a time, a defeated section of Mussolini’s Italian soldiers kickstarted the game of football in Bangalore. We look back at this story in the backdrop of Italy's defeat in the #Finalissima (1/15)

Between June 1940 and May 1943, the Allies and Axis powers battled in the North African Campaign in World War II. It raged in Libya and Egypt, as well as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (2/15)

Following the Battle of the Alps, Italy's attention turned to Africa after the British seized an Italian fort in Libya. In reprisal, Mussolini authorized the invasion of Egypt, which was under British control at the time (3/15)

Mussolini had given his generals orders to create a route into Egypt, but the Italian force was hindered by a paucity of transport and insufficient arms support (4/15)

The British launched their first attack in January 1940, capturing the port of Tobruk with support of the Australian forces. In the course of the Desert War, they captured about 200,000 Italian POWs (5/15)

Meanwhile, Bangalore aided the British air force in the 1940s, when WW2 was in full swing. The British requisitioned the HAL airport for use by the Royal Air Force to safeguard India from Japan (6/15)

In February 1941 - a special train brought thousands of Italian prisoners of war to Bangalore. They were moved to different Prisoner’s camps at Byramangala, Jalahalli, Jakkur and Hebbal (7/15)

By the end of 1941, more than 20K Italian POWs lived in Bangalore across eight camps. They were held in captivity until Italy's surrender in 1943 and were transported back to their homeland after the war ended (8/15)

So how was the life of the Italian prisoners in this unfamiliar remote land? It was mostly boring other than routine work. However, they also liked making pasta, dancing their hearts out, romancing European women and of course, playing football (9/15)

The inter-camp football games were widely attended, with a large number of fans on the sidelines, and the teams were prepared appropriately for the game, with canvas shoes and uniforms (10/15)

As soon as the guards discovered skilled Italians doing magic with football, games were arranged between the barefoot locals and Italians on the Sullivan police grounds, Cantonment Garrison grounds or on Austin Town grounds (11/15)

It is believed that the Italian prisoners of war of Bangalore passed down the culture of playing football to the locals of Austin Town, the birthplace of football in Bangalore that produced some of India's best football players (12/15)

T Shanmugham, one of the stalwarts of Indian football, who grew up in Austin Town, used to watch Italian prisoners playing football all the time and they would invite him to play too (13/15)

Bangalore had become a football-crazy town by the end of WWII, with clubs like Mysore Rovers, Bangalore Sporting, Bangalore Blues, and Bangalore Muslims among others coming into prominence (14/15)

As the love for cricket grew, the craze for football in Bangalore declined in the 1980s, along with the memories of the Italian Prisoners of War who left their indelible marks on the football culture in a faraway land (15/15)

Source: italianprisonersofwar.com, Times of India, Deccan Herald, Maddy’s Rambling/maddy06.blogspot.com