30-member Calicut FC: 6 Overseas, 5 National Players Outside Kerala

KOZHIKODE:
As seasoned Jijo Joseph Tutu is set to captain Calicut FC in the inaugural Super League Kerala (SLK), the team of 30 members features six overseas players while 19 of the rest are from the state hosting the football championship starting this Saturday.

The 32-year-old midfielder’s name was announced at a gala function Calicut FC organised in the city last evening, adding a new feather to Thrissurian Jijo who had led Kerala in the 2021-22 Santosh Trophy, winning the Player of the Tournament. A bank ex-employee, Jijo had earlier signed contracts with East Bengal FC and Gokulam Kerala.

Overall, with internationally-renowned Ian Andrew Gillanas the coach and assisted by Kerala’s Biby Thomas Muttath, the team has four strikers, seven midfielders,11 defenders, one defender/winger, one defensive midfielder and one winger/striker besides five goalkeepers.

IBS-owned Calicut FC, with Aster DM Healthcareas the Title Sponsor and Kenza TMT the Strength partner, has five non-Kerala national players—two each from Haryana and Manipur, and another from Uttar Pradesh. Olen Singh (left-wing back) and Khangebam Thoi Singh (midfielder) are the players from the Northeastern state, while the three others are goalkeepers: Vishal Joon and Sachin Jha (both of Haryana) and Gorakhpur-native Aman Kumar Sahni.

The team has two more goalies — both Keralites: Muhammed Nishad P.P. and Muhammed Niyas. The other players from Kerala are Abdul Hakku Nediyodath (full back), Britto P.M. (striker), Manoj M. (centre-back), Arjun V. (mid-fielder), Roshan Gigi (left-wing half), Rijohn Jose (centre-back), Muhammed Salim (left full-back), Muhammed Riyas (right-wing back), Tahir Zaman (right-wing back), Dane Saju (right-wing back, Muhammed Aslam (full back), Ghani Nigam (winger) and Mohammed Arshaf A K (midfielder), Rijohn Jose (defender) besides Kiran P and Hafis P.A.

All but one of the overseas players is from Africa. Three are from Ghana, while two are from Senegal. One is from the Caribbean country of Haiti. Here is their list: Kervens Belfort (Haiti, centre-forward); Papé Diakité and Boubacar Cissokho (both central players from Senagal), and Ghanaians James Agyekum Kotei (defensive mid-fielder), Richard Osei Agyemang (defender) and Ernest Barfo (attacking midfielder).

The team announcement on Sunday night at Calicut Beach was led by tech entrepreneur V.K. Mathews, who is founder-Executive Chairman of IBS Software which is the global leader in technology for the aviation industry, along with Aster DM Healthcare COO Lukman Ponmadath and CMS Dr Abraham Mammen and Kenza TMT Chairman P.K. Moideen Koya, Managing Director Mujeeb Rahman and CEO & Executive Director Shahad Moideen. While Aster DM Healthcare is a multinational healthcare network, Kenza has 33 years of advancement in making quality steel bars.Bino Jose Eapen is the secretary of the franchisee.

Calicut FC’s home-ground is EMS Corporation Stadium in the city, where they will play five home matches.The away matches will be played in the cities of the other teams.

As for SLK, EMS Corporation stadium at Kozhikode, the home ground of Calicut FC, will feature the largest number of matches: 11 out of the total 33. This includes the first semi-final on November 5. The finals will be played in Kochi on November 10. All matches will be covered live on Star Sports and Disney Hotstar.

The team has been practicing and getting ready at the MAMO stadium Mukkam since the first week of August.

All the matches will be played at 7.30 pm to suit the TV and in-stadia viewership pattern of the football-crazy citizenry of the state.