Kerala Blasters Reserves and Academy
Full nameKerala Blasters FC Reserves and Academy
Nickname(s)Manjappada (Yellow Army)
Little Tuskers
Young Blasters
FoundedReserves:
January 12, 2017 (2017-01-12)
Academy:
August 11, 2015 (2015-08-11)
GroundMaharaja's College Stadium, Ernakulam
Capacity15,000
OwnerKerala Blasters FC
Director of AcademyRajah Rizwan
Head coachTomasz Tchórz (Reserves)
Noor Alam (U-17)
Rohan Shah (U-15)
Vacant (U-13)
LeagueKPL
RF Development League
Ernakulam District League
Youth League (U-17), (U-15), (U-13)
2022-2023 KPL (reserves)
2022 RF Development League (reserves) )
2023 Kerala Youth League (U-17)		1st (group B)
Runners up
Winners

Kerala Blasters Football Club Reserves and Academy, also known as Kerala Blasters B, are the reserve team and academy of the Kochi based Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters.[1] The reserve team of the Blasters most recently competes in the Kerala Premier League, the top division of Kerala football and the RF Development League. The club's youth system consists of three teams, Under-17, Under-15 and Under-13 age groups that competes in their respective age divisions of the Ernakulam District Youth League. The youth teams of the Blasters has previously played in the Elite League, the top tier of the youth football system in India.

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 then second division football league.[2]

The first ever competitive match for the reserves was against Ozone FC on 16 March 2018 in which they suffered a defeat.[3] But they managed to become the table toppers of Group B by winning seven games from ten matches.[4] 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.[5] During their first season in KPL, they finished the group stage in third place, thus missing the play-offs.

In 2018-19 ,they finished in third place of the group.[6] 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.[7] In the I-League 2nd Division, they finished the season in fifth place.

In January 2021, the club appointed T. G. Purushothaman as their new head coach, replacing Renjith TA and Shameel Chembakath.[8]

In April 2022, they made their debut in the inaugural edition of the Reliance Foundation Development League (RFDL). Technical Advisor Tomasz Tchorz was appointed as the head coach while T.G Purushothaman became his assistant.[9] The team won five out of the seven matches which included six clean sheets. With sixteen points in total, they finished second in the table behind Bengaluru FC reserves and qualified for the Next Gen Cup, which was held in the United Kingdom.[10] In the Next Gen Cup's group B semi final, they lost 7–0 against Tottenham Hotspur F.C Academy.[11] In the third-place play-off, they lost 1–4 to Crystal Palace F.C Academy.[12]

In August 2022, with the first team preparing for the 2022–23 Indian Super League season, Kerala Blasters fielded their reserves for the 2022 Durand Cup. With two wins, a draw and two defeats, they qualified for the quarter-finals as the second team from Group D behind Odisha FC.[13] In the quarter-finals, they were defeated 3-0 by Mohammedan SC.[14]

Reserves squad

As of 25 November 2023[15]

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 India IND Muhammed Jaseen
— GK India IND Muhammed Murshid
— GK India IND Mohammed Arbaz
— DF India IND Abhiram K
— DF India IND Aritra Das (Captain)
— DF India IND Marvan Hussain
— DF India IND Adhil Ashraf
— DF India IND Muhammed Rashid P
— DF India IND Amar Muhammed PP
— DF India IND Sherin Salari
— DF India IND Muhammed Sanooth
— DF India IND Thomas Cherian
— MF India IND Muhammed Jasim
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF India IND Amal CS
— MF India IND Ebindas Yesudas
— MF India IND Rehan Rajive
— FW India IND Muhammed Nisham
— FW India IND Thingujam Korou Singh
— FW India IND Sreekkuttan MS
— FW India IND Vibin Vidhu
— FW India IND Shijas TP
— FW India IND Muhammed Haris
— FW India IND Sahil Kurshid
— FW India IND Aman

Statistics and records

Season-by-season

As of 18 April 2021

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) India Shaiborlang Kharpan 8
2018–19 8 2 2 4 8 13 8 3rd (Group B) India Pragyan Gogoi 3
2019–20 7 1 2 4 8 14 5 5th (Group C) India 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 India Shaiborlang Kharpan 8
2018–19 7 4 1 2 10 9 12 2nd (Group A) Semi-finalists India Jithin M.S. 3
2019–20 8 3 2 3 13 10 11 2nd (Group A) Champions India Shaiborlang Kharpan 4
2020–21 5 2 1 2 8 9 7 4th (Group B) DNQ India Nihal Sudheesh
India Sreekkuttan V S		 2
2021–22 10 3 0 7 11 20 9 9th (Group B) DNQ

Kit manufacturers and Shirt sponsors

Period Kit Manufacturer Shirt Prime Sponsor
2017—2018 Admiral Sportswear Muthoot Group
2018—2020 SIX5SIX
2020—21 Reyaur Sports BYJU'S
2021— SIX5SIX 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-17 (previously U-18), Under-15 and Under-13.[16] The U-18 team had previously participated in the Elite league, which is the top division of youth football in India[16] Similarly, the U-15 team had played in the Hero Juniors League and the junior most team, the U-13 team, had played in the Hero Sub-Juniors League respectively. Players from the under-17 team 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.[17] 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.[17] 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.[18] 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.[19] In 2017, Thangboi Singto was appointed as the technical director of the youth.[20] 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.[21]

KB Young Blasters: 2019–present

In 2019, Kerala Blasters rejuvenated their youth system. They launched the KB Young Blasters and appointed Mario Marinică as the technical director of the youth.[22] As a part of this, a residential academy was also launched for the first time in club's history.[23] The Blasters also announced that they will launch India's first ever goalkeeping academy in Kochi headed by John Burridge.[24][25] 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.[26]

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.[27] 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.[28] This was the first time that the Blasters expanded their grassroot system outside of Kerala.[29] In February 2021, the club's senior team assistant manager Tomasz Tchórz took over as the Technical advisor/director role at the Blasters.[30]

On 5 July 2022, the club announced that their academy programme has crossed 3,000 admissions, which was the highest number of admissions ever achieved by a football academy in Kerala.[31]

The sports Kerala-Kerala Blasters academy

On 16 September 2021, Kerala Blasters launched the Sports Kerala-Kerala Blasters academy in association with the Government of Kerala.[32] As part of a five-year deal, the Blasters is managing a residential football academy for the U-14, U-17 and U-20 categories for boys at the GV Raja Sports School, Thiruvananthapuram.[33][34]

Youth squads

Kerala Blasters U-17

Kerala Blasters Under-17 team currently participates in the Ernakulam District Youth League under-17 division. They had played the Elite League in the past. They are also the second reserve team of the club and is coached by Noor Alam. The team's best performance came in 2018 as they finished finalists in the 2017–18 season of the elite league.

Current squad

As of 14 September 2022[35]

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 India IND Aju A
— GK India IND Merin C
— GK India IND Dyankrishna Shaji
— GK India IND Muhammed Fizan
— DF India IND Sreerag P.S
— DF India IND Dharshan K.R
— DF India IND Abhinav Umesh
— DF India IND Abhinav Anil
— DF India IND Sivaji S
— DF India IND Albin Jinson
— DF India IND Clinto Ronaldo
— DF India IND Adwaith M.A
— DF India IND Amar Mohammed
— DF India IND Muhammed Rashid
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF India IND Shivjith
— MF India IND Rehan Rajive
— MF India IND V.S Piyush
— MF India IND Nesinorrdin
— MF India IND Amal C.S
— MF India IND Salih Aman
— MF India IND Abdul Raziq
— MF India IND Jasion Jose
— MF India IND Korou Singh thingujam
— FW India IND Parwej Mushraf
— FW India IND Afsal
— FW India IND Muhammed Haris
— FW India IND Muhammed Abrar
— FW India IND Muhammed Shamil
— FW India IND Muhammed Shiyas
— FW India IND Vaishak A

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 U-15

Kerala Blasters Under-15 side currently participates in the Ernakulam District Youth League. They had played the Hero Juniors League (Elite U15) and the Kerala U15 Academy League in the past. The team had a good run in the 2018–19 season of the Hero Juniors League as they made it to the semi-finals of the competition. The team is currently head coached by Rohan Shah, who also serves as the assistant manager of the under-18 team of the Blasters.

Current squad

As of 14 September 2022[36]

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 India IND Abhinand P.B
— GK India IND Mirzan Muhammed
— GK India IND Raphael Jose
— GK India IND Ajay P.J
— DF India IND Hafis K.H
— DF India IND Raphael Rosh
— DF India IND Joyal E.J
— DF India IND Edwin Anil
— DF India IND Sidharth A.S
— DF India IND Anderson
— DF India IND Adhil Johny
— MF India IND Mohammed Anas
— MF India IND Christo Vallappally
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF India IND Amal Sasidharan
— MF India IND Raja B
— MF India IND Muhammed Mishal
— MF India IND Arjun S
— FW India IND Jeevan V
— FW India IND Alphonse Chiriyankandath
— FW India IND Mohammed Haseeb
— FW India IND Muhammed Niyas
— FW India IND Ribin Paul
— FW India IND Sravan V.J
— FW India IND Muhammed Yaseen
— FW India IND Akshay Pathmanabhan

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 U-13

The Under-13 side of the Blasters currently plays in the Ernakulam District Youth League under-13 division. The team had played the Hero Sub-juniors League (Elite U13) in the past.

Current squad

As of 14 September 2022[37]

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 India IND Riswan T.R
— DF India IND Abhinav Shiva
— DF India IND Muhammed Afeek
— DF India IND Arijith P
— DF India IND Muhammed Sajid
— DF India IND Ishaq Abdul
— DF India IND Paul Abhi
— DF India IND Ryan Thomas
— DF India IND Harishankar N.U
— MF India IND Muhammed Ameen
— MF India IND Jayden Antony
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF India IND Neehar P
— MF India IND Nivedh Aryan
— MF India IND Saiman Ul Farisi
— MF India IND Shan Reginold
— MF India IND Shawn Stalin
— MF India IND Sreedeve Dineshan
— MF India IND Plinto Paul
— FW India IND Athul Raj
— FW India IND Bharath Bhushan
— FW India IND Payaspathi Premji
— FW India IND Sachin K.S

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 6 August 2023

Role Name Refs.
Academy Director & Grassroots Head India Rajah Rizwan [38]
Reserves Head Coach Poland Tomasz Tchórz [39]
U-18 Head Coach India Noor Alam
U-18 Assistant Coach & U-15 Head Coach India Rohan Shah
U-15 Assistant Coach & U-13 Head Coach Vacant
Reserves Fitness Coach Portugal Tiago Matos
Reserves Goalkeeping Coach Poland Rafał Kwiecień
Reserves Physiotherapist India Anadhu S Kumar [40]
U-15 & U-13 Goalkeeping Coach India Munavar. E
U-15 & U-13 Physiotherapist India Sayid Anvar

Technical directors of youth

Time span Name
2015–2016 Republic of Ireland Terry Phelan
2017–2019 India Thangboi Singto
2019–2021 Romania Mario Marinică
2021– Poland Tomasz Tchorz

Honours

Reserves

Youth

References

  1. ↑ Santhosh, Aswathy (18 November 2022). "Kerala Blasters twins set to fly to Poland for three-week training". thebridge.in. The Bridge. Archived from the original on 18 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "Eighteen Teams Will Contest in Second Division League 2017-18". I-League. 20 February 2018. Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "I-League 2nd Division 2018 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "'Credit where it is due' - Kerala Blasters are the only ISL side to top I-League 2nd division group". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "Off-field issues bedevilling Kerala Premier League". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "Hero 2nd Division 2019 - Results, fixtures, tables and stats - Global Sports Archive". globalsportsarchive.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  7. ↑ "KPL: Blasters edge Gokulam to emerge champs". OnManorama. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  8. ↑ "Kerala Blasters appoint TG Purushothaman as reserves team head coach". Khel Now. 10 January 2021. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  9. ↑ Modak, Sourav (11 May 2012). "Winning first-ever RFDL title is the biggest motivation: Kerala Blasters coach on the eve of decider against Bengaluru FC". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Kerala Blasters, Bengaluru FC to contest title-decider in RFDL". Khel Now. 11 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  11. ↑ Now, Khel (1 August 2022). "Kerala Blasters earn praise of Crystal Palace coach Rob Quinn". Khel Now. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  12. ↑ Sportstar, Team (30 July 2022). "Kerala Blasters loses 1-4 to Crystal Palace in Premier League Next Generation Cup third place play-off". sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  13. ↑ "Durand Cup 2022: Youthful Kerala Blasters FC face Mohammedan SC challenge in first quarter-final". Indian Super League. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  14. ↑ "Durand Cup: Kerala Blasters crash out after defeat to Mohammedan in quarters". OnManorama. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  15. ↑ "Squad". I-league.org. Archived from the original on 18 March 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  16. 1 2 "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  17. 1 2 Rayan, Stan (1 July 2017). "KBFC to start 25 football schools". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  18. ↑ Bhattacharya, S. (27 July 2015). "Blasters hoping to kick-off a grassroots revolution in Kerala". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  19. ↑ "Indian Super League: Kerala Blasters Football Schools inaugurated in Kochi". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  20. ↑ "Thangboi Singto signs for Kerala Blasters as Assistant Coach & Technical Director for Youth!". Arunava about Football. 25 June 2017. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  21. ↑ "Kerala Blasters And Its Exemplary Youth System". Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  22. ↑ "KBFC Young Blasters announces Mario Marinica as Technical Director". Indian Super League. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  23. ↑ "Spurred by new residential academy, Kerala Blasters gear-up for Hero Junior League semi-final". Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  24. ↑ Tennyson, Rayson (8 July 2019). "Kerala Blasters to start India's first goalkeeping academy". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  25. ↑ "ISL: Kerala Blasters' John Burridge out to repeat his legacy in Indian football". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  26. ↑ "Kerala Blasters launch Young Ambassador Program for young diplomats". Khel Now. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  27. ↑ "Kerala Blasters join hands with Sporthood for grassroots and youth development". Khel Now. 17 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  28. ↑ "Young Blasters-Sporthood Academy Join Hands With Fc Imphal City". Kerala Blasters FC. 16 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  29. ↑ "YOUNG BLASTERS-SPORTHOOD ACADEMY JOIN HANDS WITH FC IMPHAL CITY - Malayalam MyKhel". malayalam.mykhel.com (in Malayalam). 16 January 2021. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  30. ↑ "Tomasz Tchorz reveals Ivan Vukomanovic may select players from KBFC's RFDL team". 90min.com. 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  31. ↑ TMY (6 July 2022). "കെബിഎഫ്‌സി യങ് ബ്ലാസ്‌റ്റേഴ്‌സ് സ്‌പോര്‍ട്ഹുഡ് അക്കാദമിയിലെ അഡ്മിഷന്‍ മൂവായിരം കടന്നു". www.thejasnews.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  32. ↑ "കേരള സ്‌പോര്‍ട്‌സ് കൗണ്‍സിലിന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തില്‍ വനിതാ ഫുട്‌ബോള്‍ അക്കാദമി ആരംഭിക്കുന്നു". Mathrubhumi. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  33. ↑ "Kerala Blasters, Gokulam set to operate government football academies". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  34. ↑ "KBFC joins hands with Kerala Government for Sports Kerala Elite Residential FA". Kerala Blasters FC. 17 September 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  35. ↑ "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  36. ↑ "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  37. ↑ "Kerala Blasters Football Club". www.the-aiff.com. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  38. ↑ Ghosh, Shaunak (2 June 2022). "Rajah Rizwan to be Kerala Blasters Academy and Women's Team Director". Khel Now. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  39. ↑ "Kerala Blasters (Twitter account)". twitter.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  40. ↑ "Kerala Blasters (Twitter account)". twitter.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  41. ↑ Sportstar, Team (17 November 2023). "Indian sports news wrap, November 17". Sportstar. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
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