Gokulam Kerala FC (women) explained

Clubname:Gokulam Kerala Women
Fullname:Gokulam Kerala Football Club Women
Short Name:GKFC
Nickname:Malabarians
Ground:Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium
Capacity:30,000
Owntitle:Owner
Owner:Sree Gokulam Group
Chrtitle:President
Chairman:V. C. Praveen
Mgrtitle:Head coach
Manager:Anthony Andrews
League:Indian Women's League
Kerala Women's League
Season:2023–24
Position:IWL, 2nd of 7
KWL, Champions
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Rightarm1:9B111E
Shorts1:9B111E
Socks1:FF8000
Pattern B2:_vneckwhite
Leftarm2:8DFE61
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Website:gokulamkeralafc.com

Gokulam Kerala FC Women is an Indian women's football section of Gokulam Kerala FC.[1] [2] They participated in Indian Women's League (IWL),[3] the premier women's football league in India.[4] They won the first IWL In 2019–20.[5] They then retained the title in 2021–22 and 2022–23. In 2021, they became the first club to represent India in AFC Women's Club Championship.

Crest

The club logo incorporates elements from historical Theyyam, a famous ritual art form that originated in northern Kerala. It encompasses dance, mime and music.[6]

Stadium

Gokulam Kerala Women played most of its home matches at the EMS Stadium, which is located in the heart of Calicut.[7] The current home ground of Gokulam Kerala is Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium, after allegations surfaced that the corporation authorities were not happy with the state of the EMS Stadium under GKFC's maintenance.

Supporters

Kerala is a state known for its passionate football fans.[8] Football in Northern Kerala (known as Malabar Coastal Region) has arguably one of the most passionate fanbase in the state.[9] [10] "GKFC Battalia" is one of the largest supporters' group of Gokulam Kerala FC.[11] [12] Another noted supporters' group of the club is named "GKFC Ultras".[13]

Technical staff

PositionName
Head coach Anthony Andrews
Assistant coach
Team Manager Kevin Kishorem

Current squad

Reserves

Managerial history

DatesName
2017–2020 Priya P. V.
2021–2022 Anthony Andrews
2022 Priya P. V.
2022– Anthony Andrews

Club captains

List of Gokulam Kerala Women's Football Team captains since its establishment.

PeriodName
2017–18 Anita Rawat
2019–20 Michel Castanha
2021–22 Aditi Chauhan
2022–23 Loitongbam Ashalata Devi
2023– Grace Dangmei

Seasons

SeasonIndian Women's LeagueKWLAFC ChampionshipLeague Top Scorer
Tier width=20 !width=20 !width=25 !width=20 !width=20 !width=20 !width=20 !Name(s) Goals
2017–186 1 1 4 6 12 4 5thDNP5
2018–196 5 0 1 18 5 15 Semi FinalsDNP Anju Tamang5
2019–207 7 0 0 34 4 15 ChampionsDNP Sabitra Bhandari16
2020–210 0 0 0 0 0 0 NA[14] DNP3rd
2021–2211 11 0 0 66 4 33 ChampionsChampionsDNP[15] Elshaddai Acheampong20
2022–2310 8 2 0 64 7 26 ChampionsRunners UpGS Sabitra Bhandari29
2023–2412 9 2 1 33 5 29 Runners UpChampionsDNQ Fazila Ikwaput13

Performance in AFC competitions

AFC Women's Club Championship

Winner of the 2020–21 Indian Women's League season would originally get the chance to participate in 2021 edition of AFC Women's Club Championship. As a backup, if the season is unable to complete, defending champions of 2019–20 season, Gokulam Kerala FC, will qualify for the event.[16] Later, on 15 July 2021, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) nominated Gokulam Kerala to represent India in the AFC Women's Club Championship 2020–21 pilot tournament.[17]

SeasonCompetitionRoundClubScorePositionTop scorer
2021AFC Women's Club ChampionshipRound-robin Amman1–2 Elshaddai Achempong
Shahrdari Sirjan0–1
Bunyodkor3–1
2022AFC Women's Club ChampionshipGroup stage Sogdiyona JizzakMatch abandoned due to FIFA ban on AIFF
Bam Khatoon
2023AFC Women's Club ChampionshipGroup stage Urawa Red Diamonds0–7GS
(2nd)
Veronica Appiah
Hualien1–1
Bangkok FC4–3

Honours

Continental

Domestic

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gokulam Kerala FC embarrass Kenkre FC 10-1 in Indian Women's League. timesofindia.com. 14 February 2021. 28 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220428162446/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/top-stories/gokulam-kerala-fc-embarrass-kenkre-fc-10-1-in-indian-womens-league/articleshow/73697563.cms. live.
  2. Web site: Indian footballers Jyoti and Soumya selected for trials at ZNK Dinamo Zagreb. sportstar.thehindu.com. Sportstar. 13 July 2022. 13 July 2022. TEAM SPORTSTAR. 17:49 IST. https://web.archive.org/web/20220713150534/https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/indian-football/indian-footballers-jyoti-and-soumya-selected-for-trials-at-znk-dinamo-zagreb/article65635351.ece. 13 July 2022.
  3. Web site: Indian Women's League 2018-19 to kick off on May 5 in Ludhiana Goal.com. www.goal.com. en. 2019-04-15. 2019-04-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20190413032157/https://www.goal.com/en-in/news/iwl-indian-womens-league-2018-19-ludhiana-punjab-may/sbtdnrytqh7a1ca20m3oqxd1c. live.
  4. News: Gokulam Kerala crowned new Hero IWL champions after thrilling finale . 15 February 2020 . AIFF . 14 February 2020 . 15 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200215013759/https://www.the-aiff.com/article/gokulam-kerala-crowned-new-hero-iwl-champions-after-thrilling-finale . live .
  5. Web site: Gokulam Kerala crowned new Hero IWL champions after thrilling finale . https://web.archive.org/web/20200215013759/https://www.the-aiff.com/article/gokulam-kerala-crowned-new-hero-iwl-champions-after-thrilling-finale. 15 February 2020.
  6. Book: Kusuman, K. K. . A Panorama of Indian Culture: Professor A. Sreedhara Menon Felicitation Volume . 1990 . Mittal Publications . 978-81-7099-214-1 . en . 25 March 2023 . 17 June 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240617152606/https://books.google.com/books?id=z4JqgSUSXDsC&pg=PA128#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  7. https://www.gokulamkeralafc.com/album/ems-stadium-our-home/ EMS Stadium: Our home
  8. Web site: Kerala: The paradoxical Indian state where football rivals cricket. khelnow.com. Khel Now. 19 May 2017. 7 May 2021. 7 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210507155025/https://khelnow.com/football/cricket-and-football-in-kerala. Srinath. Acharya.
  9. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/football/i-league/i-league-gokulam-kerala-fc-taking-football-forward-on-malabar-coast/articleshow/80726110.cms Gokulam Kerala FC taking football forward on Malabar Coast
  10. Web site: Harigovind. Thoyakkat. How Kerala Blasters can learn from Gokulam Kerala's I-League success. 11 December 2021. 10 May 2021. khelnow.com. Khel Now. https://web.archive.org/web/20210510134019/https://khelnow.com/football/isl-kerala-blasters-inspiration-gokulam-kerala. 10 May 2021.
  11. Web site: Abdul. Nafie. Gokulam Kerala FC to honour former Indian football stars. 2018-03-03. sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. 3 March 2018. 25 March 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220325045839/https://www.sportskeeda.com/amp/football/gokulam-kerala-fc-to-honour-former-indian-football-stars.
  12. Web site: When it comes to attendance figures, is the I-League better than the ISL?. amp.scroll.in. Scroll. 11 May 2021. 11 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210511133734/https://amp.scroll.in/field/900972/when-it-comes-to-attendance-figures-is-the-i-league-better-than-the-isl. live.
  13. Web site: 'Stepmotherly treatment to I-League clubs': Gokulam Kerala fans irate over no Super Cup qualifiers live telecast. 7 April 2023. 10 October 2023. thesouthfirst.com. The South First News. https://web.archive.org/web/20231010135948/https://thesouthfirst.com/kerala/stepmotherly-treatment-to-i-league-clubs-gokulam-kerala-fans-irate-over-no-super-cup-qualifiers-live-telecast/. 10 October 2023. Kochi. Sreerag. PS.
  14. Web site: 2021-04-06. Indian Women's League 2021 postponed indefinitely. 2021-06-19. ESPN. en. 13 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230413053231/https://www.espn.in/football/story/4353165/indian-womens-league-2021-postponed-indefinitely. live.
  15. Web site: Gokulam Kerala FC confirm they cannot play in AFC Women’s Club Championship. scroll.in. 13 April 2023. 28 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230528222244/https://scroll.in/field/1030918/fifa-suspends-aiff-gokulam-kerala-fc-confirm-they-cannot-play-in-afc-womens-club-championship. live.
  16. Web site: AIFF keen to host women's league by September in light of continental invite. 2021-05-26. The New Indian Express. 2021-05-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20210526123421/https://www.newindianexpress.com/sport/football/2021/may/05/aiff-keen-to-host-womens-league-by-september-in-light-of-continental-invite-2298844.html. live.
  17. Web site: 2021-07-15. Gokulam Kerala FC to represent India in AFC Women’s Club Championship. 2021-07-16. The Indian Express. en. 2022-05-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20220514171258/https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/football/gokulam-kerala-afc-women-club-championship-2021-participation-7406062/. live.
  18. News: Gokulam Kerala crowned new Hero IWL champions after thrilling finale. 15 February 2020. the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 14 February 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200215013759/https://www.the-aiff.com/article/gokulam-kerala-crowned-new-hero-iwl-champions-after-thrilling-finale. 15 February 2020.
  19. News: Indian Women's League 2023: Gokulam Kerala thrash Kickstart FC 5–0 to win third consecutive title. sportstar.thehindu.com. Sportstar. 21 May 2023. 22 May 2023. Chennai. https://web.archive.org/web/20230522151217/https://sportstar.thehindu.com/football/gokulam-kerala-wins-indian-womens-league-gkfc-5-0-kickstart-fc-sabitra-bhandari-top-scorer-iwl-records-milestones-stats/article66878249.ece. 22 May 2023.
  20. News: Gokulam Kerala steamroll Kickstart to complete hat-trick of Hero IWL titles. 21 May 2023 . the-aiff.com. All India Football Federation. 21 May 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230522160849/https://www.the-aiff.com/article/gokulam-kerala-steamroll-kickstart-to-complete-hat-trick-of-hero-iwl-titles. 22 May 2023.