Collective success empowers Kerala’s great Indian football dream

I-League triumph along with Kerala Blasters’ spirited 2021-22 Indian Super League (ISL) run to the final has laid the foundation for catapulting the two Kerala clubs into beacons of Indian football. Off late, teams from Kerala have grabbed headlines for all the right reasons including the Santosh Trophy triumph, where they got the better of Bengal in the final clash.

The state team, playing in front of a packed 30,000-capacity Manjeri stadium symbolized the passion for football in Kerala, gradually globalized by the two clubs – Gokulam Kerala and Kerala Blasters. Not to forget, the KBFC reserve side recently qualified for the Premier League-ISL NextGen Cup to be played in UK, owing to their stellar performance in the recently concluded Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL), where they finished second to the champions Bengaluru FC reserve team.

Gokulam have risen to be one of the best examples of club successes banking on local fan support. Building on the revitalization of football in the state with Kerala Blasters, where Nehru Stadium in Kochi regularly filled upwards of 80,000 before the pandemic, Gokulam only started half a decade ago and tapped into the growing appetite of the fans in North Kerala, in Kozhikode.

Backed by native owners, Gokulam have won three titles in the past three years – Durand Cup and two consecutive I-Leagues. The team moved into international competitions with their debut in the AFC Cup, where they comprehensively defeated much fancied ISL opponents ATK Mohun Bagan 4-2 in their opening match on Wednesday, putting the spotlight further on the Malabarians.