Calicut FC Team Presents Team Members to the Kozhikode Football Fans

KOZHIKODE:

Amid a cheering gathering of tens of thousands of football fans, Calicut FC introduced its 31-member team for the second edition of the Super League Kerala (SLK) Football Tournament that begins within a fortnight.

Filmmaker-actor Basil Joseph, who is brand ambassador of Calicut FC, launched an anti-drug campaign at the function held at Kozhikode beach.

Calicut FC are the winners of the inaugural SLK season.

Team owner and IBS Software founder V.K. Mathews attributed CFC’s victory in the first SLK season to the “unwavering support and enthusiastic participation” of the football enthusiasts in the city. “Each fan has the feeling that Calicut FC is their team. That is the ultimate endorsement of our team” he said amid loud applause by the football loving public of Kozhikode.

MPs M.K. Raghavan and P.V. Abdul Wahab, besides legislator Ahamed Devarkovil were among those present at the ceremony.

Of the team’s 31 players, six are foreign players and five national players. The chief coach is the internationally-renowned Ever Demalde of Argentina. Assisting him is Biby Thomas Muttath, who is a former coach of the Kerala team in the Santosh Trophy.

The foreign players are Alexis Gaston Sosa (Argentina, defender), Enrique Javier Borja Araujo (Paraguay, forward), Federico Herman Boasso Fleury (Argentina, midfielder), Richard Osei Agyemang (Ghana, defender), Nahuel Jonathan Pereyra (Argentina, midfielder), Sebastian Rincon Lucimi (Colombia, forward) and Yuri de Oliveira (Brazil, midfielder).

The domestic players are Ajay Alex (defender), Ankit Jadhav (forward), Hajmal Sakeer (goalkeeper), Manoj M (defender), Prasanth K (forward), Seminlen Doungal (forward), Mohammed Ajsal (forward), Jagannath Jayan (defender), Mohammed Arshaf (midfielder), Mohammed Asif Khan (midfielder), Mohammed Riyas PT (forward), Sachu Siby (defender), Arjun V (midfielder), Muhammad Roshal PP (forward), Christy Davis (midfielder), Mohammed Niaz K (goalkeeper), Mohammed Aslam P (defender), Sharon P (goalkeeper), Aman Kumar Sahni (goalkeeper), Arun Kumar D (midfielder), Muhammed Ashique K (forward), Mohamed Salim U (defender), Visakh Mohanan (midfielder) and Shabas Ahmed M (defender).

Sports journalist and renowned commentator Shaiju Damodaran introduced the team to the fans. The four-hour team presentation ceremony featured penalty shootouts and football-themed matches for fans. The event was enlivened by a musical performance by rapper and songwriter Fejo and his team.

Calicut FC’s theme for this season, ‘Kick the Habit Say No to Drugs’, will be widely carried out at various venues to promote drug abuse.

The Calicut FC team started training at the JDT Islam Arts and Science College grounds in mid-August. As part of the training, the team will soon travel to Goa to play friendly matches against FC Goa and Dempo SC.

SLK 2025 will begin on October 2 at the EMS Stadium in Kozhikode. As a tribute to the football lovers of Kozhikode, both the semi-finals and the final of the tournament will be held in the city. Six teams from Kozhikode, Kannur, Malappuram, Thrissur, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram will compete in the two-month tournament.