James Kithan, currently a goalkeeper for I-League club Mohammedan SC Kolkata, has become the first Naga footballer to be part of two I-League titles.
Born on December 26, 1994 in Dimapur, Kithan began his career with Kohima Komets and soon moved to Kolkata to play for Peerless and then Mohammedan in the Calcutta Football League. In 2017, he once again moved south to join Viva Chennai.
Kithan joined Churchill Brothers prior to 2017–18 I-League season. Kithan, the second player from Nagaland to play in the I-League, made his I-League debut on December 2, 2017 against Shillong Lajong. Later, he joined Gokulam Kerala FC in 2021 and first played at Kerala Premier League with their reserve team. After showing the quality of his goalkeeping, Kithan was selected to the main team of Gokulam Kerala FC who played at the I-League and won the first 2021-22 title league and later played for Mohammedan SC Kolkata bagging the second 2022-23 I-league title.
Speaking exclusively to Nagaland Post, James Kithan recalled his passion for football and participating at Nagaland Premier League representing first club Kohima Komets in between 2011-12.
He said that there was no magic to reach the greater heights, but with dedication, confidence and hard-work anyone could scale the heights on particular field they were passionate about. Kithan encouraged the youngsters not to give up on their dreams and work hard to upgrade their skills and look for opportunities.
Asserting that there were several opportunities to earn livelihood through football, he said at present there were different academies coming up in Nagaland such as school of football and Dimapur FC which provide opportunities for youngsters to play outside the state. He cited examples from recent events where 12 players from Dimapur FC got the opportunity to participate at Bundesliga U-13 trials and further five young football talents were selected to undergo training in Germany.
He also highlighted about his future plans to set up school of football academy in Nagaland in collaboration with his friends.
Kithan expressed disappointment at the state government for not recognizing his achievements and others in different disciplines, who were representing state at the national platform and reaching heights without any contribution from the government. He appealed to the government to provide help as such gesture would encourage them and also upcoming youngsters. Kithan also urged the government to focus more on the players playing different sports at grassroots level since there were many promising players, but due to lack of opportunities and exposure their skills were being compromised. He also suggested organizing several state leagues to encourage and promote young players in the state.