How Super League Kerala could be a game-changer for Kerala football

The inaugural edition of the Super League Kerala (SLK) will kick off in Kochi on September 7. Kerala, once a dominant force on the Indian football scene, has struggled to get going of late. The Kerala Football Association (KFA) has teamed up with Scoreline Sports Pvt Ltd to organise the SLK to drive the sport's growth and recapture the state's past glory.

The SLK's franchise-based ownership model is expected to significantly impact the development of football in Kerala by bringing in private investment, corporate sponsorship and professional management practices to the sport.

"The advent of ISL (Indian Super League) has benefitted the players big time, especially monetarily. The top players are getting close to Rs 7-8 crore. Though there are close to 420 players in the ISL, the number of Kerala players is only 45. We wanted to ensure there is a sea change at the grassroots level, thereby raising the overall standard of football in the state. The decision to revive the Chakolas Gold Trophy early this year was aimed at giving the junior players the much-needed exposure. Of the 2,000-odd players in the fray, we believe at least 200 can become professional players. We are confident that SLK will benefit the emerging players immensely," KFA president Navas Meeran told Onmanorama.

Six teams representing the cities of Kochi (Forca Kochi), Thrissur (Thrissur Magic FC), Kannur (Kannur Warriors FC), Thiruvananthapuram (Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC), Malappuram (Malappuram FC), and Kozhikode (Calicut FC) will battle it out in the opening season of SLK, which ends on November 10. Of these six franchises, Forca Kochi and Kannur Warriors have film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran and Asif Ali as co-owners.

The league, to be played on a home-and-away basis, will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi, EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode, Payyanad Stadium, Manjeri, and Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. Malappuram FC and Thrissur FC will share the Payyanad Stadium, while the EMS Stadium in Kozhikode will be Calicut and Kannur FC's home ground.

Opportunity for age-group players

"It is mandatory to have seven U-20 homegrown players and three U-23 local players in each squad. The number of foreign players has been limited to six per franchise. Every team should have a foreigner as head coach, while his assistant has to be a Keralite. We want to make sure there is knowledge sharing, and the young players should make every opportunity count,'' said Navas.

SLK Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mathew Joseph said that love for the game has brought all the stakeholders together for a common cause. "We want SLK to benefit the young players, and the competition should motivate the youth across the state. We have sought the state government's assistance in getting land to build grounds. We want the government too to be a stakeholder in this," said Joseph.

Money matters

The SLK's total budget is around Rs 80 crore. The league is considering broadcasting rights, sponsorship deals, tickets, and merchandise sales as major revenue sources.

The revenue from the ticket and merchandise sales will go to each franchise. "As for the semifinals and final, 60 per cent of the ticket sales will go to the league, while teams will share the rest," said Joseph.

The franchise fee is Rs 1.5 crore, while the salary cap is Rs 2 crore. Each team is expected to spend around Rs 8 to 10 crore this season. "The challenge for us is to make sure things fall in place in a very short span. It varies from preparing the turf to getting the team ready for the competition in quick time. We will be sending our squad away to Goa on Thursday as we want the team to practice on grass turf. We also plan to play friendlies with the Goan teams," said architect NS Abhayakumar, CEO of Thiruvananthapuram Kombans.

Abhayakumar said Kombans are in the SLK with the primary objective of developing football. "We want to highlight 'Love for City, Love for Football.' All the franchise owners want to be part of this pioneering event. We know generating revenue will take at least three to five years. Coming to our franchise, we do not doubt home players will gain a lot. We have brought in a UEFA Pro Licence coach from Brazil (Sergio Alexandre) and have six Brazilian players in our ranks."

He wants the public to come in numbers and support the league. "The sport will only grow if there is support from the public. Crowds mean there will be more sponsors and more money coming in."

The matches will be telecast live on Star Sports 1 and streamed live on Hotstar. 

The KFA and league inked the partnership in 2022, and the state football body has been receiving Rs 1.1 crore from the SLK for the past two years. It will also get a share of the league's profit going forward.