Kerala State Club Football Championship

Football tournament
Kerala State Club Football Championship
Organising bodiesKerala Football Association
Founded1970
Abolished2017
RegionKerala, India
Last championsSBI Kerala (5th title)
Most successful team(s)Titanium FC (10 titles)

Kerala State Club Football Championship was one of the most prestigious football tournaments organised by Kerala Football Association. Founded in 1970, it was a favourite competition for football in Kerala until the late 2000s.

History

The inaugural tournament was won by AGORC, (Accountant General's Office Recreation Club) or commonly known as AG's Office team, by beating FACT Aluva.

Premier Tyres and formation of Titanium XI

Premier Tyres, Ernakulam reached its glory days during the 1970s, which produced prominent footballers like Xavier Pious, KP Sethumadhavan, Victor Manjila, Muhammed Basheer and PP Prasannan.[1] Premier Tyres were later acquired by Apollo Tyres and club was shut.

Formed in 1972, Titanium XI produced some of the finest footballers during this period. Najumuddin and Thomas Sebastian were some of the great players who represented the club during its early years.[2]

Formation of Kerala Police and glory days of Titanium XI

In 1984, the then Kerala Director General of Police (DGP) took initiative and formed Kerala Police Football Team. The Kerala Police team of the mid-80s had several names who went on to make a mark in Indian football such as V. P. Sathyan, U. Sharaf Ali, I. M. Vijayan, and Rajendran Kaladharan. The team, which trained at the Police Training College in Trivandrum, had a new signing soon after it was put together in the form of C. V. Pappachan, who had impressed manager Abdul Kareem with his displays, initially for the Calicut University team.[3]

Titanium XI became champions in two consecutive seasons, 1989 and 1990.

Battle between Titanium XI and Kerala Police

While Titanium XI became back-to-back champions in 1992, 1993 and 1994, Kerala Police became champions in 1995, resisting Titanium XI.[4]

2000s

Titanium XI, Kerala Police and SBI Kerala were the three most consistent and successful teams during this era.[5]

Scrapping of tournament

Not all teams in the Kerala Premier League took part in the State Club Football Championship, which led to scrapping the tournament in 2017.[6]

"We place less importance for the State Club Football Championship and are looking to organise a Super Cup involving best teams from the KPL soon."

Anilkumar, secretary of the Kerala Football Association

Results

Year Winners (number of titles) Runners-Up
1970 AGORC, Thiruvananthapuram FACT, Alwaye
1971 Tournament not held
1972 Premier Tyres, Ernakulam (1) AGORC, Thiruvananthapuram
1973 Titanium XI (1) Spirit Youth Club
1974 Tournament not held
1975 N/A
1976 Premier Tyres, Ernakulam (2) Titanium XI
1977 Premier Tyres, Kalamassery Customs & Central Excise
1978 Titanium XI (2) Premier Tyres, Kalamassery
1979 N/A
1980 N/A
1981 N/A
1982 Kochin Port Trust Premier Tyres, Ernakulam
1983 Central Excise RC Lucky Star Club
1984 KSRTC (1) Titanium XI
1985 KSRTC (2) Titanium XI
1986 KSRTC (3) Titanium XI
1987 Kerala Police (1) Central Excise RC
1988 Kerala Police (2) Titanium XI
1989 Titanium XI (3) KSRTC
1990 Titanium XI (4) Kerala Police
1991 Keltron FC KSRTC
1992 Titanium XI (5) Keltron FC
1993 Titanium XI (6) Kerala Police
1994 Titanium XI (7) Kerala Police
1995 Kerala Police (3) Titanium XI
1996 State Bank of Travancore (1) Kerala Police
1997 FC Kochin State Bank of Travancore
1998 Kerala Police (4) Keltron FC
1999 KSEB Central Excise RC
2000 Titanium XI (8) KSEB
2001 Tournament not held
2002 State Bank of Travancore (2) Titanium XI
2003 Tournament not held
2004 Titanium XI (9) -
2005 Titanium XI (10) Viva Kerala
2006 KSEB (1) State Bank of Travancore
2007 Tournament not held
2008 State Bank of Travancore (3) Titanium XI
2009 - unknown -
2010 Josco FC[7] State Bank of Travancore
2011 KSEB (2) Golden Threads FC
2012 AGORC, Thiruvananthapuram[8] State Bank of Travancore
2013 Kerala Police (5) State Bank of Travancore
2014 Kerala Police (6) Eagles F.C.
2015 State Bank of Travancore (4) AGORC, Thiruvananthapuram
2016 Kerala Police (7)[9] KSEB
2017 State Bank of Travancore (5) Gokulam Kerala FC

Records

Club Wins First final won Last final won Runners-Up Last final lost Total final appearances
Titanium XI 10 1973 2005 8 2008 18
Kerala Police 7 1987 2016 4 1996 11
State Bank of Travancore 5 1996 2017 4 2006 9
KSEB 3 1999 2011 2 2016 5
KSRTC 3 1984 1986 2 1991 5
Premier Tyres, Ernakulam 2 1972 1976 1 1982 3
Central Excise RC 1 1983 1983 2 1999 3
Keltron FC 1 1991 1991 2 1998 3
AGORC, Thiruvananthapuram 2 1970 2012 2 2015 2
Premier Tyres, Kalamassery 1 1977 1977 1 1978 2
FC Kochin 1 1997 1997
1
Kochin Port Trust 1 1982 1982
1
Josco FC 1 2010 2010
1
Gokulam Kerala FC
1 2017 1
Viva Kerala
1 2005 1
Lucky Star Club - Kannur
1 1983 1
Customs & Central Excise
1 1977 1
Spirit Youth Club - Kannur
1 1973 1
FACT, Alwaye
1 1970 1

See also

References

  1. ^ Chatterjee, Sayan (11 February 2021). "Remembering Xavier Pius, one of India's most aesthetically pleasing strikers". thebridge.in. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. ^ R, Ramu (20 February 2020). "For TTPL, football and volleyball teams are a distant dream". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Down the memory lane: The magnificent Kerala Police of the 1980-90s | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  4. ^ "For TTPL, football and volleyball teams are a distant dream". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  5. ^ Staff (5 April 2006). "Top six teams for Kerala Football League". www.oneindia.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  6. ^ "All you need to know about the league structure in Kerala | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  7. ^ Cyriac, Biju Babu (10 January 2011). "Josco FC won the NI David memorial Kerala state club football championship. In the final, Josco FC defeated State Bank of Travancore 3-0". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. ^ Chandran, M. R. Praveen (21 December 2012). "AG's Office is a force to reckon with". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Kerala U-21 Football Team aims for Santosh Trophy as Kerala Premier League kicks off". The News Minute. 18 April 2016. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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