Kochi: The six franchises of the inaugural edition of Super League Kerala (SLK), an ambitious initiative to develop football at grassroots level, were unveiled at a grand function here on Friday evening.
The six clubs, representing the cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Kannur are Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC, Kochi Pipers FC, Thrissur Roar FC, Calicut FC, Malappuram FC, and Kannur Squad FC.
Organised jointly by the Kerala Football Association and Scoreline Sports Private Limited, the SLK is set to commence in September this year and will run for 45 days. The matches will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode, and Sports Council Stadium, Manjeri.
The teams will compete in a home-and-away format followed by a knockout phase to determine the winner.
The league has financial backing from a bunch of prominent private investors, including foreign partners. Kaz Patafta, chairman and chief executive officer of A-League side Brisbane Roar FC, is a major stakeholder in Thrissur Roar FC. The franchise's co-owners include Benoit Joseph of Magnus Sports and Mohammed Rafeeq of Nusym Technologies.
Indian tennis great Mahesh Bhupathi, CEO of SGSE, is the owner of Kochi Pipers FC, while Kannur Squad FC is co-owned by M P Hassan Kunhi, Director of Kannur International Airport Ltd; Mibu Jose Nettikadan, Managing Director of Castle Group, Doha; Praveesh Kuzhuppilly, Director of Asset Homes and Shameem Backer, promoter of Wayanad FC.
Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC's owners include Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, member of the erstwhile royal family of Travancore; Dr Mohamed Ilyas Sahadulla, CMD of KIMS Hospital; K C Chandrahasan, MD, Kerala Travels, and T J Mathews, co-owner, Kovalam FC.
Malappuram FC is co-owned by V A Ajmal, MD, Bismi Group; Dr Anvar Ameen Chelat, SAT Tirur FC and Grand Hypermarkets, and Baby Neelambra, President, Saudi Indian Football Forum, while V.K. Mathews, tech entrepreneur and Chairman, IBS Group, is the owner of Calicut FC.
Opportunities galore
Each team will comprise four foreign players, besides young and talented players from both Kerala and other states. At least 100 players from the state will be part of the league, which is expected to give them the exposure to excel at the highest level and play and learn alongside some of the world's best in the game. Currently, only very few players from Kerala are getting the opportunity to play in the Indian Super League and the I-League.
The SLK promises to open a new world for Kerala football and help aspiring local footballers develop a more professional attitude towards the game. Apart from players from various Asian countries, proven footballers and coaches from Africa, Europe, and Latin America will be part of the league.
Glittering event
The six franchises of the inaugural SLK were launched at a gala ceremony held at Grand Hyatt in Bolgatty. Sports commentator and SLK board member Charu Sharma, actress and television presenter Mandira Bedi, Kerala Sports Council president U Sharaf Ali, SLK director Firoz Meeran, All Indian Football Federation vice-president N A Haris, acting secretary M Satyanarayanan, KFA general secretary P Anil Kumar, and former international footballers Shabeer Ali, I M Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia, C C Jacob, Victor Manjila, M M Jacob, Jo Paul Ancheri, N P Pradeep, K T Chacko, Jiju Jacob, V P Shaji, K Ajayan, M Suresh and Sushanth Mathew attended the event.
