SLK: Calicut FC Mega Team Launch on Sep 1

KOZHIKODE:
Calicut FC will show-case its 25-member football team for the inaugural Super League Kerala (SLK) tournament to the football loving Kozhikode public at a mega launch in the city on Sunday, September 1. The squad will feature six renowned overseas players, nine national level players and the rest from Kerala. Internationally acclaimed Ian Andrew Gillan is the head coach and Biby Thomas Muttath is the assistant coach. Earlier in the month, the Technical Committee of Kerala Football Association had appointed Bibi Thomas as the head coach of the Kerala State team for the Santhosh Trophy 2024 – 2025.

Calicut FC had, on August 10, released its jerseys of three kinds: teal-and-blue (home matches), yellow (away matches) and pink-and-lavender (for practice). Coach Gillan unveiled the jerseys, in the presence of his assistant Biby Thomas Muttath and the franchise’s secretary Bino Jose Eapen besides five players, at a gala function attended by fans. The team has been practicing and getting ready at the MAMO stadium Mukkam since the first week of August.

The launch of the team and the introduction of the players will be held at Kozhikode beach from 4 pm on September 1. The four-hour long gala function will be a cultural extravaganza for the public featuring exhibition matches, music bands and contests. Welcoming the public of Kozhikode to attend the function, team owner VK Mathews said.

“Calicut FC has brought together an outstanding team and support staff. We will develop and professionalise football in Kerala by offering playing opportunities to local players alongside skilled overseas players and exposing them to the rigour of international football. By providing the right ecosystem, we plan to nurture and inspire the youth of our state towards and sports driven future. Over the next few years, we will be setting up a state-of-the-art infrastructure and training facility in Kozhikode for aspiring football players across the country. The show-casing of our team on September 1st will be an opportunity for the public to see the celebrities at close quarters and to interact with them.”

Mathews is the founder-Executive Chairman of the 5000-employee-strong IBS Software, the global leader in technology for the aviation industry.

The much hyped SLK will kick off on September 7 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi. The two month-long tournament will be played across four centres – Kochi, Kozhikode, Manjeri and Thiruvananthapuram. EMS Corporation stadium at Kozhikode, the home ground of Calicut FC, will feature the largest number of matches, 11 out of the total of 33 matches, including the first semi-final on November 5th. The finals will be played in Kochi on November 10th. 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. The intense competition between the teams, featuring some of the most skillful players, will see the champions pocketing Rs 1.50 cr as the prize money.