Kerala Blasters FC Reserves and Academy

Kerala Blasters Football Club Reserves and Academy are the reserve team and youth academy system of the Kochi based Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. The reserve team of the Blasters competes in the I-League 2nd Division, the second division of Indian football and Kerala Premier League, the top division of Kerala football. The youth system consists of three teams, Under-18, Under-15 and Under-13 age groups that competes in the Elite League, the top tier league of youth football system in India.

Kerala Blasters Reserves and Academy
Full nameKerala Blasters FC Reserves and Academy
Nickname(s)Manjappada (Yellow Army)
Little Tuskers
Young Blasters
FoundedReserves:
12 January 2017 (2017-01-12)
Academy:
11 August 2015 (2015-08-11)
Ground
Capacity
  • 80,000 (Limited To 39,000 by FIFA from 2017)
  • 15,000
OwnerKerala Blasters FC
ChairmanNikhil Bhardwaj
Head coachT. G Purushothaman (Reserves and U-18)
Vacant (U-15)
Vacant (U-13)
LeagueI-League 2nd Division (Reserves)
Kerala Premier League(Reserves)
Youth League (U-18)
Hero Juniors League (U-15)
Hero Sub Juniors League (U-13)
2019-2020 (I League 2)
2019-2020 (KPL)
2019-2020 (Youth League)		5th in group C
Champions
Cancelled due to COVID Pandemic

Reserves

History

On 20 February 2018, it was announced by the All India Football Federation, the organising body for Indian football, that the Kerala Blasters along with six other Indian Super League sides would field a reserve team in the I-League 2nd Division, India's third division football league.[1]

The first ever match competitive match for the reserves were against Ozone F.C on 16 March 2018 in which they suffered a defeat.[2] But they managed to become the table toppers of Group B by winning seven games from ten matches.[3] However as per the rules, reserve teams of the clubs were not eligible for advancing into the final round. In the same year itself, the side also started to participate in the Kerala Premier League, which is the top division league for the clubs from Kerala.[4] During their first season in KPL, they finished the group stage in third place behind Sports Academy Tirur by one point thus missing the play-offs.

In 2018-19 ,they finished the I-League 2nd Division in third place of the group.[5] In KPL they became the semi finalists during the 2018-19 season.

They won the 2019-2020 season of Kerala Premier League after defeating the reserve side of their rivals Gokulam Kerala FC in a Penalty shootout.[6] In the I-League 2nd Division, they finished the season in fifth place.

In January 2021, the club appointed TG Purushothaman as their new head coach of the reserve side, replacing Renjith TA and Shameel Chembakath.[7]

Current team squad
As of 1 February 2020[8]

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 Ayush Das
2 DF  IND Leminlun Doungel
6 FW  IND Abhishek K
9 DF  IND Rumais K
10 FW  IND Ajay
11 FW  IND Sajith S
12 FW  IND Mabir Singh
19 FW  IND Pulak Baruah
23 FW  IND Abdullah KS
26 GK  IND Sujith Sasikumar
No. Pos. Nation Player
30 DF  IND Narayan Chettri (Captain)
31 MF  IND Jothish K Jayan
32 DF  IND Lalthakima
37 MF  IND Jacob John Katookaren
38 DF  IND MD Esha
39 DF  IND Satgouthang Konoung
40 MF  IND Zayed Bin Waleed
41 MF  IND Pragyan Sundar Gogoi
42 MF  IND Abhijith K

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
– DF  IND Nidhin Krishna (to South United F.C.)
– FW  IND Riswan Ali Edakkavil (to South United F.C.)

Season-by-season
As of 17 March 2020

Note: Reserve clubs are not promoted nor allowed to play in playoffs of I-League 2nd Division

Season I-League 2nd Division Top Scorer
P W D L GF GA Pts Position Player Goals
2017-18 10 7 0 3 25 17 21 1st (Group B) Shaiborlang Kharpan 8
2018-19 8 2 2 4 8 13 8 3rd (Group B) Pragyan Sundar Gogoi 3
2019-20 7 1 2 4 8 14 5 5th (Group C) Ronaldo Oliveira 4
Season Kerala Premier League Top Scorer
P W D L GF GA Pts Position Playoffs Player Goals
2017-18 8 5 0 3 27 10 15 3rd (Group A) DNQ Shaiborlang Kharpan 8
2018-19 7 4 1 2 10 9 12 2nd (Group A) Semi Finalists Jithin MS 3
2019-20 8 3 2 3 13 10 11 2nd (Group A) Champions Shaiborlang Kharpan 4

Kit manufacturers and Shirt sponsors
Period Kit Manufacturer Shirt Prime Sponsor
2017—2018 Admiral Sportswear Muthoot Group
2018—2019 Six5Six
2019— Reyaur Sports BYJU'S

Youth and academy

The Kerala Blasters youth system known as KBFC Young Blasters currently consists of 3 teams from 3 different age groups, the Under-18, Under-15 and Under-13.[9] The U-18team participates in the Elite league which is the top division of youth football in India.[10] The U-15 participates in the Hero Juniors League and the Junior most team, the U-13 plays at the Hero Sub-Juniors League respectively. The U-15 side also participates in the Kerala U-15 Academy League, a regional youth league.The young talents from the Under-18 team playing in the Elite League are promoted into the reserve team based on their performance.

Inception and early years: 2015–2019

In association with the Kerala Football Association, the Kerala Blasters announced the opening of 25 football schools throughout Kerala.[11] In addition to the schools, the club announced that they would also hold weekend grassroots leagues for the children of under-10 to under-16 and the start of a residential academy in the future.[11] The first Kerala Blasters Football School was inaugurated on 11 August 2015 at Dr. Ambedkar Stadium Kochi after 15 months which the club was founded.[12] Later, three more schools were opened in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Thrissur as a part of the club's new youth academy system. Former Irish International Terry Phelan was appointed as the head of the grassroots.[13] In 2017, Thangboi Singto was appointed as the technical director of the youth.[14] In the same year itself, their U-18 and U-15 teams began to participate in the Elite League and Juniors League respectively. The U-18 team became the runners up of the 2017–18 Youth League in their first ever appearance while the U-15 side managed to reach the play offs. In 2018, the U-13 side started to participate in the Sub-Juniors League.[15]

KB Young Blasters: 2019–present

In 2019, Blasters rejuvenated their youth system. They launched the KB Young Blasters and appointed Mario Marinică as the technical director of the youth.[16] As a part of this, a residential academy was also launched for the first time in club's history.[17] The Blasters also announced that they will launch India's first ever goalkeeping academy in Kochi headed by John Burridge.[18][19] As a part of KB Young Blasters, the club also started the Young Ambassador Program in September 2020. It focus on the promising youngsters from the club’s Young Blasters centers across Kerala to make them oriented, trained and equipped with adequate skill and technique, to be the face and voice of the club in the future.[20]

On 16 October 2020, the Blasters announced a five-year partnership agreement with "Sporthood", which is a network of sports centres. The Young Blasters program is now termed as “Young Blasters – Sporthood Academy”, that imparts a Kerala Blasters verified performance training curriculum to kids, reviewed and audited by the club's experts from time to time.[21] On 16 January 2021, the club announced the association of "FC Imphal City", the first academy from Manipur to play in the Hero Indian Elite League with the Young Blasters – Sporthood Academy.[22] This was the first time that the Blasters expanded their grassroot system outside of Kerala.[23]

2020[24]
  • Jovial P. Jose
  • Francio J. Ambi
  • Siddharth C. Basu
  • Athul P. Binu

Kerala Blasters U18

The Kerala Blasters Under-18 team play in the Elite League (then Youth League U18). They are also the second reserve team of the club or the Kerala Blasters C. The team's best performance came in 2018 as they finished finalists in the 2017–18 season of the league. Best performers in the side are promoted to the Kerala Blasters Reserves Squad.

Current squad

Source: [25] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  IND Shifas KF
— DF  IND Ibnu Shaharath
— DF  IND Muhammed Jiyad
— DF  IND Lalramenpuia Ralte
— DF  IND Abdul Badiah
— DF  IND Naorem Nanao
— DF  IND Phujam Sanathoi
— DF  IND Athul Ganesh
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  IND L Doungel
— MF  IND Yunus Shaikh
— MF  IND Sanoop C
— MF  IND Jose Praveen
— MF  IND Abdul Raheeb
— MF  IND Mohammed Azhar
— MF  IND Abdul Raheeb
— MF  IND Zayed Bin Waled
— MF  IND Akash Ravi
— FW  IND Nihal Sudeesh

Elite Youth League U18 statistics of Kerala Blasters U18

Season Position Top Scorer Goals Notes
2017–18 Runners-up Adharsh AS 8 First Appearance
2018–19 Playoffs Surag Chhetri 9

Kerala Blasters U15

Kerala Blasters Under-15 side participates in the Hero Juniors League(Elite U15) and Kerala U15 Academy League. The U15 side has young kids filtered from all of Kerala and around other states of India. The Young Blasters had a tremendous run in 2018–19 season of the Elite U15 League (Juniors League) when they made it to the semi-finals of the competition. The U15 Blasters team was coached by Shameel Chembakath from the beginning. He left the team in 2020.

Current squad

Source: [26] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  IND Vasudev M
— DF  IND Mohammee Ziyad
— MF  IND Joshua K Denny
— MF  IND MK Ansari
— MF  IND Pranay Dhamal
— MF  IND Adityan A
— MF  IND Faris Ali
— MF  IND Muhammed Mahin
— MF  IND Al Shameem
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  IND Naeef Rahman
— MF  IND Muhammed Faris
— FW  IND Muhammed Akhthar
— FW  IND Lian Thangkhum
— FW  IND Athul K
— FW  IND Safar K

Hero Juniors League statistics of Kerala Blasters U15

Season Position Top Scorer Goals Notes
2017-18 Playoffs Joshua NJ,Anandu N 3 First Appearance
2018–19 Semi-finals Christopher Rajkumar 10

Kerala Blasters U13

The Under-13 side of Blasters Play in the Hero Sub-juniors League(Elite U13). The U-13 Side has a Promising youngsters mainly from the state of Kerala and also other parts of India selected from Kerala Blasters Summer Football Camps.

Current squad

Source: [27] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  IND Sharon J
— GK  IND Saviyol Varghese
— GK  IND Navaneeth MS
— DF  IND Harish Chandra
— DF  IND Muhammed Mifraah
— DF  IND Adam Jose
— DF  IND Said Hydrose
— MF  IND Roshan B
— MF  IND Shreyas Lal
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  IND Abhiram A
— MF  IND Jithin Reji
— FW  IND Abdul Akmal
— FW  IND Suryadas P
— FW  IND Nilan Shijil
— FW  IND Ashwarath S Nath
— FW  IND Athul K Chandran
— FW  IND Adhil Ashref

Hero Sub-Juniors League statistics of Kerala Blasters U13

Season Position Top Scorer Goals Notes
2018–19 Round 3 Lian Thangkhum 4 First Appearance

Current technical staff

As of 10 January 2021

Position Name
Reserves and Under 18 Head Coach TG Purushothaman
Under 15 Head Coach Vacant
Under 13 Head coach Vacant
Tehnical Director of Youth and Academy Mario Marinica
Director of Goalkeeping Academy John Burridge[28]

Technical directors of youth
Time span Name
2015–2016 Terry Phelan
2017–2019 Thangboi Singto
2019- Mario Marinică

Honours

Reserves
Winners (1): 2019-20

Youth
Runners-up (1): 2017–18 Youth League U18

See also

References
  1. "Eighteen Teams Will Contest In Second Division League 2017-18". I-League. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. "I-League 2nd Division 2018 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  3. "'Credit where it is due' - Kerala Blasters are the only ISL side to top I-League 2nd division group | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  4. "Off-field issues bedevilling Kerala Premier League | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. "Hero 2nd Division 2019 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  6. "KPL: Blasters edge Gokulam to emerge champs". OnManorama. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  7. "Kerala Blasters appoint TG Purushothaman as reserves team head coach". Khel Now. 10 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  8. "Squad". I-league.org.
  9. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  10. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  11. Rayan, Stan (1 July 2017). "KBFC to start 25 football schools". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  12. Bhattacharya, S. (27 July 2015). "Blasters hoping to kick-off a grassroots revolution in Kerala". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  13. "Indian Super League: Kerala Blasters Football Schools inaugurated in Kochi | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  14. "Thangboi Singto signs for Kerala Blasters as Assistant Coach & Technical Director for Youth!". Arunava about Football. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  15. "Kerala Blasters And Its Exemplary Youth System | IFTWC - Indian Football Team For World Cup". Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  16. "KBFC Young Blasters announces Mario Marinica as Technical Director". Indian Super League. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  17. "Spurred by new residential academy, Kerala Blasters gear-up for Hero Junior League semifinal | Hero I-League". Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  18. Jul 8, Rayson Tennyson | TNN |; 2019; Ist, 20:48. "Kerala Blasters to start India's first goalkeeping academy | Football News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. "ISL: Kerala Blasters' John Burridge out to repeat his legacy in Indian football | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  20. "Kerala Blasters launch Young Ambassador Program for young diplomats". Khel Now. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  21. "Kerala Blasters join hands with Sporthood for grassroots and youth development". Khel Now. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  22. "Young Blasters-Sporthood Academy Join Hands With Fc Imphal City". Kerala Blasters FC. 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  23. "YOUNG BLASTERS-SPORTHOOD ACADEMY JOIN HANDS WITH FC IMPHAL CITY - Malayalam MyKhel". malayalam.mykhel.com (in Malayalam). 16 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  24. "'Young Ambassador Program' – Kerala Blasters FC". Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  25. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  26. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  27. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  28. "Kerala Blasters to launch first-of-its-kind Goalkeeping Academy in Kochi". Indian Super League. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
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