Kerala Blasters FC

Inception

In early 2014, it was announced that the All India Football Federation, the national federation for football in India, and IMG–Reliance would be accepting bids for ownership of eight of the nine selected cities for the inaugural Indian Super League (ISL), a franchise tournament modelled along the lines of the Indian Premier League for cricket. On 13 April 2014 it was announced that the rights to the Kochi franchise were won by former India cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar and serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, and educationalist Prasad V Potluri. Then, on 27 May 2014, the team's official name was unveiled as the 'Kerala Blasters FC' which is based on the nickname of co-owner Tendulkar, the "Master Blaster".

Construction of the team for the first season started on 22 July when the Kerala Blasters, along with the other seven franchises, took part in the domestic draft to select the first fourteen Indian players in each team. India international Mehtab Hossain was the first draft pick made by Kerala Blasters and thus the first player in Kerala Blasters history. At the end of the draft, the Blasters were composed of fourteen players, including Hossain: Avinabo Bag, Sandip Nandy, Chinadorai Sabeeth, Luis Barreto, Milagres Gonsalves, Ramandeep Singh, Renedy Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Ishfaq Ahmed, Gurwinder Singh, Nirmal Chettri, Sushanth Mathew, and Godwin Franco.

On 13 August 2014, former England international goalkeeper David James was announced as the first head coach of the Kerala Blasters and the first marquee player in team history, thus coming in as a player-head coach. Then, on 21 August 2014, the team participated in the international draft in which each team selected seven foreign players to join their team. Former Newcastle United forward Michael Chopra was the first foreign player drafted by the Kerala Blasters.

The team also picked up Local Talent Duleep Menon for the inaugural season of ISL.

2014 (Inaugural season)

David James was Kerala's manager and marquee player in their first season. The Kerala Blasters played their first ever match away from home on 13 October 2014 against NorthEast United at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium. A Koke goal in the 45th minute saw the Blasters lose their inaugural match 0–1. The team's second match saw the first goal scored in Kerala Blasters history by Canadian international Iain Hume but it could not prevent the team from losing to Chennaiyin 1–2. It took the Kerala Blasters till their fourth game to get their first victory when they took on Pune City. Goals from Chinadorai Sabeeth and Penn Orji led the Blasters to a come from behind 2–1 victory.

After starting the season with a five-game away run, the Kerala Blasters played their first home match on 6 November 2014 against Goa. A Milagres Gonsalves goal led the Blasters to a home-debut 1–0 victory over the Goans in front of 49,517 fans at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The Kerala Blasters managed to book their spot into the finals on 9 December 2014. A 1–0 victory of Pune City ensured the Blasters of qualification.

The Kerala Blasters played their first finals match on 13 December 2014 against southern rivals Chennaiyin. Despite not being considered the favourite to win the two-legged tie out of the two, Blasters won the first leg at home in emphatic fashion with a 3–0 score through goals from Ishfaq Ahmed, Iain Hume, and Sushanth Mathew. In the second leg, in Chennai, the Kerala Blasters suffered a massive scare. Despite going into the second leg with the 3–0 advantage, Chennaiyin managed to draw the tie level by winning in regular time 3–0 themselves. However, in extra-time, the Kerala Blasters managed to strike back and score the decisive goal in the 117th minute from Stephen Pearson to win the tie 4–3 and thus enter the final.

In the final, the Kerala Blasters took on Atlético de Kolkata at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Despite holding on for ninety minutes, it was Atlético de Kolkata that came out on top with a Mohammed Rafique goal in the 95th minute earning the Kolkata side the title with a 1–0 victory.

2015

After the 2014 season, it was announced that David James would not be returning the team as head coach and that former England U20 head coach Peter Taylor would take over. With the departure of James, the Blasters also needed to make a new marquee player signing. In August, it was announced that former Spanish international Carlos Marchena would be signed as the new marquee for the club. As well as Marchena, in anticipation for the 2015 season, the Kerala Blasters also managed to sign former Premier League players Peter Ramage, Stephen Bywater, Bruno Perone, and Sanchez Watt while also signing former Benfica player João Coimbra. The only foreign player retained by the team was the fan favourite Pulga (footballer).

Taylor was sacked after Kerala achieved only one win from their opening six games, to be replaced by Irishman Terry Phelan. On 4 November, after playing only once, Marchena left the team due to personal reasons, and the team entered negotiations to recruit Scottish forward James McFadden as a replacement.

2016

After the 2015 season, Steve Coppell was announced as head coach of Kerala Blasters. In order to encourage local talents, former Indian International N P Pradeep was announced as the official Scout. On 28 July, the team brought in Northern Ireland national team international defender Aaron Hughes as their new marquee player.Kerala blasters qualified for semi-final on 4 December 2016, winning against NorthEast United FC and finished second in league table. Blasters entered finals of the season winning against Delhi Dynamos FC in the semi finals.But lost against Atlético de Kolkata(1-1) in penalty shoot (3-4) on their home ground. Kerala Blasters FC holds the record of winning most consecutive home wins(6) at their home stadium kochi.

Colours and Logo

The official logo of the Kerala Blasters was unveiled on 15 September 2014. The logo, designed by Brash Brands, is built along the lines of the culture of Kerala by using the elephant, reflecting the pride of the state. Along with the elephant is a football which is being cradled by the elephant. Describing the logo, co-owner Prasad V Potluri, said "The logo reflects the cultural and sporting legacy of Kerala symbolized by the elephant. The elephant is a symbol of strength and pride, rooted in its family and community, reflecting the aspiration and spirit of Kerala Blasters."

Sponsors

Along with the logo, the official home kit of the Kerala Blasters was also unveiled on 15 September 2014. The kit, designed by German company Puma, features a yellow home jersey with blue shorts. The Muthoot Pappachan Group meanwhile feature on the Kerala Blasters shirt as title sponsor for the team. Mobile wallet service provider Oxygen has partnered with Kerala Blasters Football Club as their official payments solution sponsor. Aster Medcity is the Official "Health and Wellness Partner" of Kerala Blasters FC. Sportico is the official facilities partner.

In 2016 season main sponsors were announced as Kalyan Jewellers,Prime Meridian, Quaker,Spartan and Livguard.

Stadium

The Kerala Blasters currently play their home games at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi. The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, also known as the Kaloor International Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium, playing host to both football and cricket. Initially, the stadium was going to host the Kerala Blasters' first match on 15 October 2014 but the home opener had to be delayed to the next month, on 6 November 2014, after the stadium owners, the Greater Cochin Development Authority, gave permission to the Kerala Cricket Association to host an ODI cricket match between India and the West Indies. To prepare for the home opener the Blasters, with the help of the Kerala Football Association, replaced the three cricket pitches with fresh-made Bermuda grass being installed in their place.

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium usually holds a capacity ranging from 60,000 to 75,000. For Indian Super League matches though the capacity was listed officially as 60,500.

Current Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Current Technical Staff

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Season Summary

Other Statistics

Managerial Record

Average Home Stadium Attendances

Kerala Blasters has achieved an average home attendance of 52,008 per match in 2015 season of their domestic league, and is inducted in the second place in list of top 10 non-European football clubs with the highest average attendances. Kerala Blasters FC is the 11'th best football club in world by Average Stadium attendances of Football clubs, ahead of the popular clubs Newcastle United F.C., Atlético Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Manchester City F.C., Liverpool F.C., Valencia CF, Chelsea F.C. etc. Kerala Blasters FC is on first position in average home attendance among football clubs in Asia.