Kerala United FC

Kerala United FC (formerly Quartz Soccer Club)[2] is an Indian professional football club based in Malappuram, Kerala,[3][4][5] that compete in I-League 3, the fourth tier of Indian club football.

Kerala United Football Club
Full nameKerala United Football Club[1]
Nickname(s)The Hornbills
Founded
  • 1976 (1976)
    (as Calicut Quartz FC)
  • 2020 (2020)
    (rebranded as Kerala United FC)
GroundPayyanad Stadium
Capacity30,000
OwnerAbdullah bin Musa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
LeagueI-League 3
Kerala Premier League
Kerala Women's League
Active departments of Kerala United FC
Football (Men's) Football (Women's)

Founded in 1976 as Calicut Quartz,[6] the club was an amateur and academy side during its early years. In December 2011, they announced intention to turn professional and participated in 2012 I-League 2nd Division, which was then the second tier of Indian club football.[7] The club spent a season in the second division during 2011–12 and later played in the Kerala Premier League. In 2017–18 Kerala Premier League season, they finished as runners-up.[8][9]

In 2020, the club underwent a substantial change in ownership as the "United World Group" assumed control. This marked the beginning of a new chapter for the club, accompanied by a rebranding of the club as Kerala United FC.[10][11] The club initially began their training at Seethi Haji Stadium at Edavanna. Later moved to Malappuram District Sports Complex, which is widely known as Payyanad Stadium.[3]

History

Founded in 1976 as Quartz Football Club[12] in Kozhikode, Kerala and since has been growing up step by step from district to state to national level.[13][14] The Quartz Academy was incorporated in 2009.

In December 2011, they were officially certified by the All India Football Federation to participate in the I-League 2nd Division. For the first time in 2012 I-League 2nd Division, Quartz FC participated but failed to make an impression. They only got one point in the group stage thereby failing to get promotion.

In 2012–13 season, Quartz FC signed I-League players like Rino Anto, Sabas Saleel, K. Noushad, Manoj Manoharan, Sherin Sam, Kamardeep Singh, Suji Kumar, J. Prasad, P.M. Britto, Salil Usman and Ajmaluddin. Club also signed the top-scorer and player of the tournament at the 2012 Santosh Trophy V.V. Farhad. They appointed Assistant coach Bino George of Chirag United Club Kerala.[15] Later withdrew from the 2013 I-League 2nd Division due to financial instability.

Club managed to win Kozhikode District League back to back in 2011 and 2012. Later in 2013–14, Quartz played with their academy side in the very first edition of Kerala Premier League. After making a late entry in 2017–18 Kerala Premier League season,[16][17] the club finished as runners-up after losing to Gokulam Kerala in final.[18] They had withdrawn from two editions of Kerala Premier League (2016–17, 2018–19) due to financial issues.[19]

"Kerala is known to be the heart of Indian football and when it comes to passion and support, no fan base in India comes close to their love for the beautiful game. Our focus will be on cementing and strengthening the foundations of the club, building an academy and developing homegrown players."

— Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, CEO of United World Group, after the takeover and rebranding of Kerala United FC.[20]

In November 2020, English Premier League Club Sheffield United have taken over Calicut Quartz and rebranded it as Kerala United FC. United World Group, the umbrella firm holding Sheffield, said in a statement that it envisages to make Kerala United a competitive, community-focused football club playing at the highest level possible in Indian football.[21]

P. Haridas, who owned Calicut Quartz FC, is also the president of the Kozhikode District Football Association (KDFA), said a Premier League club coming to the state will bring major changes to Kerala football. Company director Akshay Das said: "We're looking for an overall development in the state, especially in Malabar."

As Kerala United, they participated in the 2020–21 Kerala Premier League and qualified for the knockout stages after finishing second in the Group-B with 12 points. In the semi-finals, regular time couldn't separate Gokulam Kerala and Kerala United, match ending goalless. They lost 4–2 on penalties at the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium.[22][23] In that season, they participated in Independence Day Cup in Assam and finished as runners-up, losing to Assam State Electricity Board SC by 4–3 in penalties.[24] In October 2022, Nigerian-born naturalized Indian manager Saheed Ramon was appointed head coach.[25] In 2023, they participated in Stafford Challenge Cup in Bangalore.[26][27] Kerala United won their first ever Kerala Premier League title in 2022–23, defeating Gokulam Kerala B in final.[28]

Crest, colours & kits
Great hornbill, the official state bird of Kerala, from which the crest of Kerala United has derived.

The United World Group had unveiled the crest after rebranding the club which features the Great Hornbill, the official state bird of Kerala. The club is also nicknamed after the bird as "The Hornbills".[29]

The primary colour of team is purple which dominates their home kit, with the hornbill crest in the right side, white shorts and white socks.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period Kit Manufacturer Shirt Sponsor
2011–2013 Star Impact –
2013–2014 – Ramco
2017–2018 Nivia ICL Fincorp
2018–2020 Ramco[30]
2020–2021 KESPO[31] Micro Health Laboratories
2021–2022 SEGA
2022–present Erreà

Kit evolution
2020–21
2021–22

Stadium

Former venues

Since 1977, Kerala United FC played its home matches at the EMS Stadium in Kozhikode.[32]

EMS Stadium on a matchday
A view of Seethi Haji Football Ground

In 2021, Kerala United FC shifted their base from Kozhikode to Malappuram district Seethi Haji Stadium, located in Edavanna, as their training ground.[33][34]

Current venue
A view of Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium, Manjeri

The club plays its home games at the Payyanad Stadium in nearby town called Manjeri.[3]

Support and rivalry

Rivalries

During their time at Kozhikode as Calicut Quartz FC, they had a rivalry with former National Football League side FC Kochin.[35][36] They also enjoyed an on field rivalry with another Kozhikode based side Gokulam Kerala FC.[37] The first Kozhikode Derby match between the two teams took place in the final of 2017–18 Kerala Premier League, where Calicut Quartz FC beat Gokulam Kerala FC beat 3–2.[38] Upon change of ownership, team shifted its base from Kozhikode to Malappuram District which introduced a new Malabar Derby in Kerala Premier League. First match after acquisition was in 2020–21 Kerala Premier League semifinals, where two teams locked horns. The match ended as a goalless draw even after full time. Gokulam won 4–2 on penalties.[39]

Statistics
Competition Played Kerala United wins Draws Gokulam wins Kerala United goals Gokulam goals
Kerala Premier League 4 1 1 2 3 6
Total 4 1 1 2 3 6

Results
No Date Competition Venue Score Kerala United FC scorers/red cards Gokulam Kerala scorers/red cards Attendance
4 19 April 2021 2020–21 Kerala Premier League Maharaja's College Stadium, Ernakulam 0–0 Closed Doors
3 3 June 2018 2017–18 Kerala Premier League Municipal Corporation Stadium, Thrissur 0–2 Brian Umony, Arjun Jayaraj
2 10 May 2018 2017–18 Kerala Premier League EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode 0–2 Mohamed Salah, Usman Ashik
1 25 April 2018 2017–18 Kerala Premier League EMS Corporation Stadium, Kozhikode 3–2 Emmanuel Aidoo Sushanth Mathew, Mama

Honours
Competition Kerala United Gokulam
Kerala Premier League 0 2[40][41]
I-League 2nd Division 0 0
I-League 0 2[42]
Super Cup (India) 0 0
Total 0 4

Players

First-team squad
As of 6 March 2023

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 India IND Sidharth Rajeevan
3 DF India IND Umar Mukthar
4 DF India IND Muhammed Noufal (captain)
6 DF India IND Rudrarajsinh Jadeja
8 MF India IND Craig Mangkhanlian
9 FW India IND Haroon Dilshad
10 MF India IND Vanlalmalsawma
11 FW India IND Hari Prasad
12 DF India IND Sachu Siby
15 GK India IND Pratheesh Vadakkeveettil
16 DF India IND Muhammed Ramees
18 DF India IND Ashish Malick
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 FW India IND Safnad Mohammed
20 MF India IND Abdul Basil V
21 MF India IND Thufail K
22 DF India IND Ali Safwan
25 MF India IND Jishnu Balakrishnan
31 DF India IND Manoj M
32 DF India IND Aswin PK
49 GK India IND Vivek Gopal
— DF India IND Manabir Basumatary
— MF India IND Lalsawampuia
— FW India IND Biren Rai
— FW India IND Aravindan Rajendran
— FW India IND Chabungam Meitei

Notable players

Had international caps for their respective countries whilst playing for Kerala United FC:

Personnel

Youth academy
Position Name
Head of grassroots development India Shajirudheen Koppilan
Head of youth development India Suneer VP
Team manager India Alfin K Joseph

Corporate hierarchy
Position Name
Chief executive officer India Shabeer Mannaril[46]
Managing director India Zakariya Koduvery[46]

Statistics and records

Season statistics
As of 21 March 2023
Season KPL I-League 2nd Division I-League 3
2011—12 – Group stage –
2012—13 – DNQ –
2013—14 Group stage DNQ –
2014—15 DNP DNQ –
2015—16 DNP DNQ –
2016—17 Pulled Out from the League DNQ –
2017—18 Runner-Up DNP –
2018—19 DNP DNQ –
2019—20 DNP DNP –
2020—21 Semi-final DNQ –
2021—22 Group stage Group stage –
2022—23 Champions DNQ –
2023—24 TBD DNQ TBD

Head coaching record
As of 02 May 2023
NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%Ref.
Frank Braner  Germany 1 January 2012 28 May 2012 7 0 1 6 4 29 000.00 [47]
Bino George  India 29 May 2012 29 December 2012 0 0 0 0 0 0 !—
Carlton Chapman  India 28 May 2017 12 October 2020 10 6 1 3 21 20 060.00 [48]
Shajirudheen Koppilan  India 15 January 2021 4 July 2021 6 4 1 1 16 5 066.67 [49]
Bino George  India 16 August 2021 1 July 2022 13 9 2 2 31 11 069.23 [50]
Saheed Ramon  Nigeria 3 November 2022 02 May 2023 15 8 4 3 33 16 053.33 [51]

Affiliated clubs

The following clubs are currently affiliated with KUFC:

Other department

Kerala United Women's
Kerala United (Women's) player in action during a state league match in 2022
Kerala United (Women's) players in 2022

The women's football section of Kerala United is currently competing in Kerala Women's League.[54][55][56]

Honours

League

Cup

See also

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