Gokulam Kerala FC

This article is about the men's football team. For the women's team, see Gokulam Kerala FC (women).

Gokulam Kerala
Full nameGokulam Kerala Football Club
Nickname(s)Malabarians[1]
Short nameGKFC
FoundedJanuary 2017; 7 years ago (2017-01) (as Gokulam FC)
GroundEMS Stadium
Capacity50,000
OwnerSree Gokulam Group
PresidentV. C. Praveen
Head coachAntonio Rueda
LeagueI-League
2023–24I-League, 3rd of 13
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Gokulam Kerala Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Malappuram, Kerala.[2] Founded in 2017,[3] the club competes in the I-League, the second tier of Indian football league system.[4][5][6] They won the 2020–21 I-League title to become the first club from Kerala to do so, and became the first team to defend the league title in 2021–22.[7][8] Gokulam is also the first and so far the only club from the state to qualify for a continental competition, AFC Cup, in 2022.[9][10]

Nicknamed Malabarians, Gokulam Kerala represents the state of Kerala, predominantly its Malabar region.[1][11][12] Affiliated with Kerala Football Association (KFA), club's reserve team competes in Kerala Premier League, and clinched titles in 2017–18,[13] and 2020–21.[14] They also won the 129th edition of the Durand Cup, becoming only the second side from Kerala to win that competition.[15] The women's section of the club participates in the Indian Women's League.[16]

  1. ^ a b Football Express Desk, 7:19 PM (8 January 2021). "Hero I-League 2020–21 team profile: Gokulam Kerala". footballexpress.in. Football Express. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ "9 Keralites in Gokulam Kerala FC squad for Durand Cup". english.mathrubhumi.com. Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
  3. ^ Schöggl, Hans. "India – List of Foundation Dates". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Gokulam Kerala FC vs Chennai City FC | Match Details". I-League Official Website. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  5. ^ "I-League: Defending champs Gokulam Kerala begin campaign with solid win". siasat.com. The Siasat Daily. 26 August 2021. Archived from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Gokulam Kerala FC vs Chennai City FC | Match Details". I-League Official Website. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  7. ^ Atsushi Fujioka & Arunava Chaudhuri. "India – List of National Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  8. ^ "I-League: Gokulam Kerala wary of Mendigutxia threat ahead of NEROCA clash". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  9. ^ Dey, Sayak Dipta (27 March 2021). "Gokulam Kerala FC win I-League, qualify for AFC Cup". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 27 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  10. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (10 January 2022). "Gokulam Kerala FC strengthen by signing striker Luka Majcen!". arunfoot.com. Arunava about Football. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  11. ^ Ghosh, Soumo (6 February 2021). "Gokulam Kerala taking the beautiful game forward together on the Malabar coast". i-league.org. Kolkata: I-League. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  12. ^ PTI (23 July 2022). "Bino George set to become East Bengal reserve team coach". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  13. ^ Schöggl, Hans. "India — List of Kerala League Champions". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  14. ^ "INDIAN FOOTBALL NEWS (APRIL 2021): Gokulam Kerala FC crowned Kerala Premier League". www.kolkatafootball.com. Kolkata. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  15. ^ Kumar, P. K. Ajith (24 August 2019). "Durand Cup: Gokulam Kerala FC's win over Mohun Bagan reinvigorates Kerala football". thehindu.com. Kozhikode: The Hindu Sports. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  16. ^ Media Team, AIFF (14 February 2020). "Gokulam Kerala crowned new Hero IWL champions after thrilling finale". the-aiff.com. Bengaluru: All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.