Calicut FC, the current chart-topper in the Super League Kerala, has set its sights on bigger goals. The team, which has already secured a spot in the league’s semifinals, is aiming to lift the title and eventually participate in the I-League.
“One of our goals is to participate in the I-League, we are preparing ourselves to get the capability to reach that level. And the next goal is naturally the ISL,” said V.K. Mathews, the owner of Calicut FC.
The club’s ambitious plans include improving its training facilities and establishing its own training ground. “Next year, we will have our own training ground. It will be in Kozhikode but we’ll look at Kochi as well. Getting a practice ground is not that difficult and we need to have a swimming pool and other facilities. And we must have an academy connected to it,” said Mathews.
Mathews believes that it will take a few years for SLK clubs to break even financially. “The franchise budget for a SLK club is somewhat the same level as the I-League. I don’t think (SLK) clubs will break even in the first three years. The financial success of this depends on the viewership, the viewership has to go up. For that, we have to sensitise and get more and more people interested in the Super League. One of the ways of doing it is how deeply we are involved with the community, the schools, the academies…when the boys and girls from academies come, then the viewership will go up.”
Ian Andrew Gillan, Calicut’s head coach, feels that the SLK — India’s lone State league that allows foreign players — could be a good model for other States to follow. “You can probably reduce the number of foreign players but you need foreigners to raise the standard of Indian players and to make the league attractive,” said Gillan.
Gillan, who has worked with clubs in Australia, Indonesia, and Nepal, believes that India needs more facilities for the sport. “With your massive population, if you can embrace that by providing the facilities, give the kids a game and you’ll develop better,” he said.
