| I. M. Vijayan is a former Indian footballer-turned-actor and a member of the AIFF's technical committee. |
| During his childhood, he faced severe poverty. |
| Vijayan used to sell soda for 10 paise per bottle at football matches to support his family. |
| He repeated the fifth standard five times due to never missing his morning football practices. |
| At the age of twelve, he lost his father and started assisting his mother who collected scraps for a living. |
| At 17, he impressed the Kerala Police football club coach A. M. Sreedharan and joined the team. |
| Vijayan debuted for the Indian national football team in 1989, scoring 32 goals in 77 international matches and captaining the team. |
| In 1991, he fulfilled his dream of building a house and securing financial stability by joining Mohun Bagan. |
| Vijayan has appeared in Malayalam and Tamil films and owns the Sevens football club, Usha FC Thrissur, named after his mother. |
| Initially a Brazil supporter, he later switched to supporting Argentina after being enchanted by Maradona. |
| His leg bears tattoos of Maradona's name and jersey number. |
| Vijayan served as the head coach of Southern Samity and strongly backed the Sevens football format. |
| He attended all FIFA World Cup tournaments from 2002 to 2022 and declined an INC ticket to contest Lok Sabha elections. |
| In 2020, the AIFF recommended him for the Padma Shri Award. |
| Vijayan starred in the Malayalam film 'Mmmmm,' which won the Best Film (feature) award at the 2021 Paris Film Festival. |
| Besides football, he has made appearances in various South Indian films. |
