Robert Romawia Royte or ‘3R’ as he is known in Mizoram’s football circles, bought the very team that virtually ended his dream of becoming a professional footballer and transformed it into a champion side.
He is equally confident of leading to victory another team that has waited 10 years for success.
Mr. Royte, 51, is the Mizo National Front (MNF) candidate for the key Aizawl East-II Assembly seat. His rivals are Congress veteran and Finance Minister Lalsawta, B. Lalchhanzova of the seven-party Zoram People’s Movement and the BJP’s C. Malsawmi, the only woman candidate.
Generous support
Most Mizos are passionate about football. But few have scaled the heights that Mr. Royte — often called the ‘patron saint’ of soccer — has with his team, Aizawl FC, winning the I-League in 2016-17 on a shoestring budget.
The moniker isn’t just for his 2012 buy and turn around of Aizawl FC, a football club that began going downhill less than a decade after its birth in 1984.
Mr. Royte is also revered for his sponsorship of almost every sports club in Aizawl, specifically in Aizawl East-II, which is considered the ‘Home of Football’ in the State.
The funds come from Mr. Royte’s construction and consultancy firm, the TT Royte Group. The consultancy wing alone had a turnover of ₹75 crore in the 2017-18, making him Mizoram’s most successful businessman.
The nickname 3R stuck when he started as a teacher in the 1990s and rose to become an officer on special duty for a government-run education society. He quit his job in 2010 to join his father Than Thuama Royte’s firm and turn it around. However, work and business took him away from his beloved football.
“I used to play as a striker or attacking midfielder, and the highlight of my playing days was captaining a Shillong team against Aizawl FC in 1991,” he told The Hindu.
But his team lost to Aizawl FC. The defeat rankled, but also made him more determined to be a part of the club. The opportunity came in 2011 when he became the club’s president, a year before taking it over as single owner.
But his popularity on the field is not the only reason why Mr. Royte thinks he holds an edge over his strongest rival Mr. Lalsawta.
“Unlike him, I am a resident of this constituency. The people know what he did during the last 10 years and they also know what ‘3R’ will do. Let them compare and make a choice,” he said.
In 2014, Mr. Royte contested Mizoram’s only Lok Sabha as an Independent but lost to C.L. Ruala of the Congress by 6,154 votes.
“All the parties approached me, but I chose MNF because it represents all Mizos across the globe The party will give me the opportunity to address the problem of sinking areas in the constituency since 2008, affecting more than 150 buildings and a large number of families and other issues such as internal connectivity and employment generationand socio-economic development,” he said.
Focus on sports
Sports, however, remains closest to his heart. “Absence of a sports policy and lack systematic intervention by of the government has betrayed many young talents. For instance, football-crazy Mizos reached the Asia League level but Aizawl FC had to play its home matches outside Mizoram due to lack of a qualified ground for this league. Achievements at various levels are not because of government intervention but because of the talent and hard work of the sportspersons and their sponsors,” Mr. Royte said.
He wants to make the government the main stakeholder in sports development if the MNF is voted to power.