Football is one of the most popular sports in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Football was introduced to the land of Kerala during the pre-independence period by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

officers of the Malabar Special Police (MSP) in the 20th century. MSP was camped in

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

and soon the natives began adopting the sport, which was mostly played in post- harvest

paddy fields A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Aus ...

. Kerala enjoyed a golden age from 1985 to 1995 by making it to Santhosh Trophy finals seven times consecutively, and football became an iconic sport ever since in the south Indian state. FIFA released the film ''Maitanam - The Story of Football in Kerala'', quoting: ''Football in the Indian state of Kerala runs through the fabric of its society, where football is life and life is football''. Manjappada unfolding their tifo

Kerala state football team appeared in the Santosh Trophy finals 15 times and won the trophy 7 times, latest in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

by defeating

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in the final on 2 May at the Payyanadu Stadium in

Gokulam Kerala FC Gokulam Kerala Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Calicut, Kerala. Founded in 2017, the club competes in the I-League, the second tier of Indian football league system. They won the 2020–21 I-League to become th ...

won the

2020–21 I-League The 2020–21 I-League (known as the ''Hero I-League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the I-League, one of the top tier Indian professional football leagues, since its establishment in 2007. The tournament was hosted in bio-sec ...

to become the first ever club from Kerala to win an I-League title and they created history by becoming the first team in the I-League era to defend its title, being

2021-22 I-League Increment or incremental may refer to: * Incrementalism, a theory (also used in politics as a synonym for gradualism) * Increment and decrement operators, the operators ++ and -- in computer programming * Incremental computing * Incremental backu ...

Champions. Gokulam Kerala FC is also the first club from Kerala to qualify for a

continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continent, the major landmasses of Earth * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' ( ...

competition, the AFC Cup.

Kerala Blasters Kerala Blasters Football Club (), commonly referred to as The Blasters, is an Indian professional football club based in Kochi, Kerala, that competes in the Indian Super League, the top tier of football in India. The club was established i ...

, the

Indian Super League The Indian Super League (ISL) is an Indian professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Indian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Organised by the All India Football Federat ...

club based in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

are one of the most widely supported clubs in Asia and has one of the largest social media following among the football clubs from the continent. ''Travancore Royals Football Club'' (TRFC), founded on 29th November 2018, is India's first fans-owned club.

Kerala Premier League Kerala Premier League is a state-level top football league organized by the Kerala Football Association and played in the state of Kerala, India. For sponsorship reasons it is officially known as the Scoreline Kerala Premier League. Structur ...

, together with

Kerala Super League The Super League Kerala, also known as the Kerala Super League, is an upcoming state-level football league of Kerala, organized by the Kerala Football Association and the ''Unifed Football Sports Development Pvt. Ltd''. It will feature 6 tea ...

, is the official state level league tournament and

Kerala State Club Football Championship 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 ina ...

is the official state-level knockout tournament in Kerala, both organized by the Kerala Football Association. SBI Kerala FC is the most successful Kerala League team becoming champions 6 times while Travancore Titanium FC is most successful in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

, winning it 10 times. The Sait Nagjee Cup Football Tournament is a popular international club football tournament held in

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...

which has been attracting large crowd since 1952. Brazilian footballer

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional association football, footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deplo ...

has served as the brand ambassador for the Sait Nagjee Football Tournament. Famous international footballers including

, Maradona,

Roberto Carlos Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), commonly known as Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who now works as a football ambassador. He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his car ...

Thomas Tuchel Thomas Tuchel (; born 29 August 1973) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed Premier League club Chelsea. Born in Krumbach, Tuchel retired at age 25 after a chronic knee cartilage injury; in 2000, he b ...

visited Kerala for different reasons. David James and

Dimitar Berbatov Dimitar Ivanov Berbatov ( bg, Димитър Иванов Бербатов; born 30 January 1981) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer. A striker, he captained the Bulgaria national team from 2006 to 2010, and is the country's all-ti ...

managed Kerala Blasters in different season. The Hero Super Cup of 2023 was held in Kerala.

Clubs

Most of the clubs still functioning in Kerala are founded after 1970s.

Stadiums

Notable players

I M Vijayan, V. P. Sathyan, C. V. Pappachan,

Jo Paul Ancheri Jo Paul Ancheri (born 2 August 1976) is an Indian former professional football player who captained the Indian Football team. He was named the AIFF Player of the Year by the All India Football Federation in 1994 and 2001. He currently works ...

, Victor Manjila, E.N. Sudhir, Mohammed Rafi,

C.K. Vineeth Chekiyot Kizhakkeveettill Vineeth (born 20 May 1988), commonly known as C. K. Vineeth, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for RoundGlass Punjab in the I-League. Personal life Born in Kannur district in the state of K ...

Anas Edathodika Anas Edathodika (born 15 February 1987) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Indian Super League club Jamshedpur and the Indian national team. Club career Early career Born in Kondotty, Malappuram, Kerala, ...

Sahal Abdul Samad Sahal Abdul Samad (born 1 April 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or winger for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters and the India national team. Club career Early life and youth career Sahal was born in ...

Rino Anto Rino Anto (born 3 January 1988) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a right back for RoundGlass Punjab FC in the I-League. Club career Early career Born in Thrissur, Kerala, Anto is a product of the Tata Football Academy in Ja ...

Rahul Kannoly Praveen Rahul Kannoly Praveen (born 16 March 2000) commonly known as Rahul. K. P, is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters and the India national team. Club career Youth and e ...

Ashique Kuruniyan Muhammed Ashique Kuruniyan (born 14 June 1997) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club Mohun Bagan SG and the India national team. Club career Early life and youth career Born in Malappuram, K ...

, N.P Pradeep, Krishnan Nair Ajayan,

Zakeer Mundampara Zakeer Mundampara is an Indian footballer who last played as a Central Forward for All India Sevens Football club Town Team Areacode. Early life Zakeer started taking football seriously at the age of 15. He played for Spandanam, Areekode a ...

, Usman Ashik,

Muhammed Sagar Ali Muhammed Sagar Ali (born 13 April 1993) is an Indian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, centre-back. He most recently played for Bhutan Super League club Bhutan Super League ...

, Denson Devadas, C. S. Sabeeth, Mohamed Irshad, Asif Kottayil, Sushanth Mathew.

Notable tournaments

(formerly

Kerala Football League Kerala Premier League is a state-level top football league organized by the Kerala Football Association and played in the state of Kerala, India. For sponsorship reasons it is officially known as the Scoreline Kerala Premier League. Structur ...

) *

Sait Nagjee Football Tournament The Sait Nagjee All India Football Tournament is one of the most prestigious football Tournaments held in Kozhikode, Kerala, India. The tournament was very popular from the beginning & attracted large crowd since 1952. The tournament played until ...

: held in

* GV Raja Trophy in Thiruvananthapuram * All India Sevens Football * Chakola Cup in Thrissur * Golden Jubilee Trophy in Kollam * Nehru Cup in Ernakulam * Mamman Mappila Cup in Kottayam * Sree Narayana Cup in Kannur

List of state level champions

Football academies

* Milan Academy Kozhikode * KBFC Young Blasters * Gokulam Football Foundation * Prathibha Football Club, Trivandrum * Kovalam Football Club * Valiyathura Football Academy * KMHS Mevalloor, Kottayam * Association of Promotion of Football Talents, Palakkad * Beypore Football Academy, Kozhikode * G.H.S.S, Nadakkavu, Kozhikkode * Jawahar Sports & Arts Club, Mavoor, Kozhikkode * V.P Sathyan Socker School, Kozhikode * G.H.S.S, Udinoor Trikkarippur, Kasaragod

References

{{Football in Kerala Football in Kerala