Gokulam Kerala FC

Gokulam Kerala was founded in January 2017.[17] The club then went on to participate in Awes Cup in Goa, in which they finished the campaign as runners-up.[18] On 20 September, after the second round of bidding invitations, the bid evaluation committee decided to award Sree Gokulam Group the right to field their team in the Hero I-League 2017–18 season onwards from Calicut, Kerala.[19][20] Although the club did not have a good beginning, they went on to defeat clubs like East Bengal, Mohun Bagan and Minerva Punjab by the end of the season. Gokulam Kerala hired Spaniard Fernando Santiago Varela as head coach in March 2018.[21]

On 15 March 2018, Gokulam played the Super Cup qualifiers against North East United FC and was qualified with a 2-goal victory.[22] In the pre-quarterfinals of the Super Cup on 1 April 2018, they were leading against Bengaluru by 0–1 until 60 minutes with a goal scored by the striker Henry Kisekka but Bengaluru scored a stoppage time goal which led to a defeat of 2–1.[23]

Gokulam in 2019, for the first time went abroad and participated at the 2019 Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup in Bangladesh,[24][25][26] where they qualified for the Semi-finals after finishing 2nd in Group B. Gokulam finished as semifinalist after losing 3–2 to Chittagong Abahani.[27][28][29] Gokulam Kerala won their maiden title under the coaching of Fernando Santiago Varela, the 129th edition of the Durand Cup on 24 August 2019, defeating Mohun Bagan AC 2–1 in Kolkata.[30][31][32]

Gokulam Kerala won the 2020–21 I-League by defeating TRAU FC in the final game.[33][34] With 29 points from 15 games, they qualified for the 2022 AFC Cup group stage.[35][36][37]

In April 2021, Gokulam Kerala emerged as the champions of the 2020–21 Kerala Premier League, defeating KSEB FC 2–1 at the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium.[38][39] They began their 2021–22 I-League season on 26 December with 1–0 win against Churchill Brothers. They later thrashed Real Kashmir by 5–1.[40]

After back to back wins in both the group and championship stages,[41][42][43][44][45] the club clinched I-League title again in 2021–22 season,[46] defeating Mohammedan Sporting 2–1 in the final game at the Salt Lake Stadium on 14 May, and became the first club in fifteen years to defend a national league title.[47][48]

At the 2022 AFC Cup group-stage opener, the club achieved a historic 4–2 win against Indian Super League side ATK Mohun Bagan.[49][50] Later, they were defeated 1–0 by Maldivian side Maziya S&RC,[51] 1–2 by Bangladeshi side Bashundhara Kings respectively, and knocked out of the tournament.[52] On July 5, the club officially announced that they roped in former Cameroonian international Richard Towa as new head coach.[53] Due to not maintaining good form in league marches, the club parted ways with Towa and roped in Spanish manager Francesc Bonet in place of him.[54][55]

In April 2023, the club took part in 3rd edition of Indian Super Cup.[56]

An I-League encounter between Gokulam Kerala and Mohun Bagan at the EMS Stadium in 2019

Gokulam Kerala is known for pathbreaking the Kolkata clubs, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan in some major matches in I-League and Durand Cup.[69][70] Gokulam Kerala won the 2019 Durand Cup by defeating East Bengal in the semi-final and Mohun Bagan in the final. They also defeated Mohammedan in the deciding last match of 2021–22 I-League to clinch their consecutive league title. Both the states, Kerala and West Bengal, are two dominant powerhouses of Indian Football.

Gokulam Kerala enjoys an on-field rivalry with another Kozhikode based side Kerala United (previously Quartz Calicut).[71] The first match between the two teams took place in the group stage of 2017–18 Kerala Premier League, where Quartz Calicut were winners.

After the purchase of Kerala united FC by the owners of Sheffield United, the first match took place in 2020–21 Kerala Premier League semifinal. The match ended goalless and Gokulam won 4–2 on penalties.[72]

For the first time in history, Gokulam Kerala faced Kerala Blasters in the "Kerala Derby" at group stage of the 132nd edition of Durand Cup on 13 August 2023, in which they defeated the ISL side by 4–3.[73][74][75]

Theyyam is a popular ritual form of worship in North Kerala

The club crest incorporates elements from historical Theyyam,[76] a famous ritual art form that originated in northern Kerala.[77] It encompasses dance, mime and music. The crest was unveiled in January 2017, by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and football legend I. M. Vijayan.[78]

During the early days they used yellow and red coloured home kit. From 2018–19 season onwards, maroon was used as primary colour for home kit.

As of 14 September 2023[84]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IND Bishorjit Singh 2 DF  IND Salam Ranjan Singh 3 DF  IND Saurabh Meher 4 DF  IND Vikas Saini 5 DF  IND Nidhin Krishna 6 MF  IND Rishad PP 7 FW  TJK Komron Tursunov 8 FW  IND Sreekuttan VS (vice-captain) 9 FW  IND Senthamil S 10 MF  ESP Nili Perdomo 11 FW  IND Sourav K 12 DF  IND Laishram Johnson Singh 13 MF  IND Rahul Khokhar 14 FW  IND Naro Hari Shrestha 15 DF  IND Abdul Hakku 17 DF  CMR Aminou Bouba 18 MF  IND Shilton D'Silva 20 FW  IND Dilip Oraon 21 GK  IND Avilash Paul 22 FW  IND Shijin Thadhayouse

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 MF  ESP Edu Bedia 24 FW  NGA Justine Emmanuel (on loan from Kerala Blasters) 29 FW  IND Noufal PN 33 DF  IND Muhammad Saheef (on loan from Kerala Blasters) 35 GK  IND Devansh Dabas (on loan from Chennaiyin) 38 FW  ESP Álex Sánchez (captain) 44 MF  IND Basit Ahmed Bhat 45 DF  IND Anas Edathodika 46 MF  IND Christy Davis 53 MF  IND Azfar Noorani 93 MF  IND Akhil Praveen — FW  IND Ngangom Ronald Singh — MF  IND Abhijith K — MF  IND Calvin Rosario Baretto — GK  IND Bishal Lama — FW  IND Naocha Singh Ngangbam — MF  IND Basudeb Mandi — MF  IND Thahir Zaman — GK  IND Zothanmawia

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF  IND Arjun Jayaraj (at SC Bengaluru until the end of the 2023–24 season)

League

• I-League
  • Champions (2): 2020–21,[85][86] 2021–22
• Kerala Premier League
  • Champions (2): 2017–18, 2020–21[87][88]
  • Runners-up (3): 2018–19, 2019–20, 2022–23[89]
• Kerala State Club Championship
  • Runners-up (1): 2016–17[90]

Cup

• Durand Cup
  • Champions (1): 2019[91][92]
• Bodousa Cup
  • Champions (1): 2019[93]
• AWES Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2017[94]

• Sheikh Kamal International Club Cup
  • Semi-finals (1): 2019[95]

As of 25 August 2023

Name	Nationality	From	To	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win%	Ref.
Bino George	India	8 October 2017	26 February 2019	40	10	11	19	45	58	025.00	[119]
Gift Raikhan	India	26 February 2019	1 July 2019	3	1	0	2	4	6	033.33	[120]
Fernando Santiago Varela	Spain	1 July 2019	16 June 2020	20	11	4	5	25	10	055.00	[121]
Vincenzo Alberto Annese	Italy	19 August 2020	1 June 2022	40	25	7	8	90	42	062.50	[122]
Richard Towa	Cameroon	5 July 2022	22 December 2022	9	4	3	2	7	3	044.44	[53]
Francesc Bonet	Spain	27 December 2022	31 May 2023	16	8	0	8	27	24	050.00	[123]
Domingo Oramas	Spain	June 2023	till now	4	2	0	2	7	7	050.00	[124]

As of 21 March 2023

As of 25 August 2023

Name	Period	I-League	Super Cup	Durand Cup	IFA Shield	Others	AFC Cup	Appearances
Aminou Bouba	2021–	39	04	08	05	01[lower-alpha 1]	03	60
Thahir Zaman	2021–	43	04	00	03	01[lower-alpha 1]	03	54
Sreekuttan VS	2021–	39	04	04	00	01[lower-alpha 1]	03	51
Muhammed Rashid	2017–2022	35	01	05	03	04[lower-alpha 2]	00	48
Emil Benny	2020–2022	32	00	03	05	00	03	43
Sharif Mukhammad	2020–2023	30	00	04	03	00	03	40
Arjun Jayaraj	2017–2019, 2022–	37	02	01	00	00	00	40
Mohammed Irshad	2017–2018, 2019–2020	29	01	04	01	04[lower-alpha 2]	00	39
Mohammed Jassim	2021–	29	04	03	01	01[lower-alpha 1]	01	39
Daniel Addo	2017–2019	36	02	00	00	00	00	38