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 participates in the I-League 2nd Division, the third division of Indian football and Kerala Premier League.The youth system consists of three teams, Under-18 ,Under-15 and Under-13 age groups and participates in the Elite League ,the top tier 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)
  • 5,000 (Secondary ground)
OwnerKerala Blasters FC
CEOVacant
Head coachRenjith TA (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.

In the following 2019-2020 season,they won the 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.

Current Team Squad
As of 1 February 2020[7]

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 Lovepreet Singh
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
13 FW  IND Pulak Baruah
19 FW  IND Ronaldo Oliveira
23 FW  IND Abdullah KS
24 DF  IND Pritam Kumar Singh
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
34 FW  IND Suraj Rawat
35 MF  IND Hrishi Dhath
36 DF  IND Basit Ahmed
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
99 GK  IND Ayush Das

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.)

Statistics and Records

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

* Ongoing Tournaments

Kit Manufacturers and Shirt Sponsors
Period Kit Manufacturer Shirt Prime Sponsor
2017—2018 Admiral Sportswear Muthoot Group
2018—2019 Six5Six
2019— Rayaur Sports

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 [8].The U-18 team participates in the Elite league which is the top division of youth football in India. [9]. 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.

History

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.[10] In addition to the schools, the club announced that they would also hold weekend grassroots leagues for children under-10 to under-16 and the start of a residential academy in the future.[10] The first Kerala Blasters Football School was inaugurated on August 11, 2015, at Ambedkar Stadium Kochi after 15 months which the club was founded.[11] Later, three more schools were opened in Trivandrum, Calicut and Thrissur as a part of the clubs upcoming youth academy system.Former Irish International Terry Phelan was appointed as the head of the grassroots.[12] In 2017, Thangboi Singto was appointed as the technical director of the youth.[13] 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.

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.[14]As a part of this, a residential academy was also launched for the first time.[15]Blasters also announced that they will launch India's first ever goalkeeping academy in Kochi headed by John Burridge [16][17]

Squads

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: [18] 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 Muheet Shabir
— 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 club in 2020.

Current Squad

Source: [19] 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: [20] 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
Position Name
Reserves and Under 18 Head Coach Renjith TA[21]
Under 15 Head Coach Vacant
Under 13 Head coach Vacant
Tehnical Director of Youth and Academy Mario Marinica
Director of Goalkeeping Academy John Burridge[22]

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
  • Elite League(Youth League U18)
Runners-up (1): 2017–18 Youth League U18
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See also
  • Kerala Blasters

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. "Squad". I-league.org.
  8. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  9. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  10. Rayan, Stan (1 July 2017). "KBFC to start 25 football schools". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  11. Bhattacharya, S. (27 July 2015). "Blasters hoping to kick-off a grassroots revolution in Kerala". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  12. "Indian Super League: Kerala Blasters Football Schools inaugurated in Kochi | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  13. "Thangboi Singto signs for Kerala Blasters as Assistant Coach & Technical Director for Youth!". Arunava about Football. 25 June 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  14. "KBFC Young Blasters announces Mario Marinica as Technical Director". Indian Super League. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  15. "Spurred by new residential academy, Kerala Blasters gear-up for Hero Junior League semifinal | Hero I-League". Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  16. 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)
  17. "ISL: Kerala Blasters' John Burridge out to repeat his legacy in Indian football | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  18. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  19. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  20. "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  21. "Kerala Blasters". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  22. "Kerala Blasters to launch first-of-its-kind Goalkeeping Academy in Kochi". Indian Super League. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
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