Football Club Kochin was founded in April 1997,[15][16] with aims to develop the structure of
association football in the state of
Kerala.[17] Paul Varghese is the chief Patron behind the making of the club and K.J. Varoo was the first Manager.[16]
Former
India captain
I. M. Vijayan had two successful stints with FC Kochin during 1997–98 and 1999–01 seasons.
M. P. Kurian was the founder cum chairman of the FC Kochin Trust and M. K. Joseph was the founder cum chairman of the FC Kochin Limited Company. These organisations played a key role behind the development of the club during the late 1990s. After the fall of
Kerala Police FC, FC Kochin filled the void of football in the state.[18]
FC Kochin was unique because of promoting modern footballing infrastructure. It's considered as the first professional club in
India, whose motto was "a new approach to the game".[18] The development of FC Kochin lit a spark in Kerala, with the football-mad people embracing the club with open arms.[19]
FC Kochin began their 1997
Durand Cup campaign by beating seven times Durand champion,
Border Security Force by 2–1. In the next match, they thrashed Kolkata giant,
Mohammedan Sporting by 5–0 with Vijayan scoring his first hat-trick for Kochin followed by goals from Raman Vijayan and B. Deepu. They went into the knock-out of their first Durand Cup as group-topper which attracted many Keralites settled in the capital to watch their match. In the semi-final, they locked horns with the then best team,
JCT FC.[22]
In 1997, FC Kochin participated in the
Scissors Cup and reached to the final, that held in
Kerala. The final, against Bahraini side
West Riffa, turned out to be a damp squib with the game abandoned due to a power cut in the stadium. The Bahraini team were adjudged winners after a coin toss.[30]
NFL seasons
In the coming years they were not able to replicate the form they showed in their first season, although they managed to come fourth in the national football league in 1998. The next three seasons saw them finishing sixth,[31] fourth and fourth again in the
National Football League. This was the time when FC Kochin was coached by
T.K. Chathunni, one of the best football coaches in India.[32]
KPL wins
FC Kochin crowned the inaugural season of
Kerala Premier League in 1998, and later, they retained title, after winning the second edition in December 1999.[33]
POMIS Cup 2001
FC Kochin went to Maldives and took part in
15th edition of the
POMIS Cup in 2001.[34] After achieving second place in group stages, the club moved to semi-final, but lost 2–0 to
Club Valencia.[34]
Last season: 2001–02
For the 2001–02 NFL season, FC Kochin roped in Czech manager
Karel Stromšík as head coach.[35] They signed four foreigners, Ukrainian Mykola Shevchenko, Nigerian international Obinna Winners Onyia, Liberian national team player Josiah Seton, and Ghanaian goalkeeper.[35] In that season, the club earned 17 points in 22 league matches, finished in eleventh place and relegated to the NFL II along with
Punjab Police.[36] FC Kochin's Sunday Seah made a mark in that season.[37]
This list comprises notable Indian and foreign footballers, who played for FC Kochin (between 1997 and 2004) in the
National Football League of India. Some of them have also represented their respective countries before or after joining the club.
With reduced sponsorship money after declining performance, and with
Indian Football Federation failing to pay the dues to the club, it faced a financial crunch.[100] Unpaid salaries and exodus of good players led to a low performance of the club in the top league. The club finished at 11th position in
2001–02 season and got relegated to Second Division. The club played Second Division twice, but failed to get promoted to
Premier Division. The club could never resurrect itself after that,[101] and went defunct in 2002 after it was revealed that the club had not paid salaries since 2000 after running up 2.5 crores in losses a season.[102][103][104][105]
^Mukherjee, Kumar (2002).
The story of football. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India.
ISBN978-81-230-0782-3. Archived from
the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
Menon, Ravi (7 December 1999).
"FC Kochin rope in coach Chathunni". expressindia.indianexpress.com. Kochi: The Indian Express. Archived from
the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
^Chaudhuri, Arunava; Hai Naveed, Malik Riaz (25 May 2003).
"India — List of Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from
the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
Bibliography
Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House.
ISBN978-0-143-42641-7.
Notes: The tournament was not held from 1914-19 (due to
WWI), in 1939 (due to
WWII), from 1941-49 (due to
WWII and
Partition), in 1962 (due to
1962 War) and in 2015 and 2017-2018 (due to unknown reasons)
Football Club Kochin was founded in April 1997,[15][16] with aims to develop the structure of
association football in the state of
Kerala.[17] Paul Varghese is the chief Patron behind the making of the club and K.J. Varoo was the first Manager.[16]
Former
India captain
I. M. Vijayan had two successful stints with FC Kochin during 1997–98 and 1999–01 seasons.
M. P. Kurian was the founder cum chairman of the FC Kochin Trust and M. K. Joseph was the founder cum chairman of the FC Kochin Limited Company. These organisations played a key role behind the development of the club during the late 1990s. After the fall of
Kerala Police FC, FC Kochin filled the void of football in the state.[18]
FC Kochin was unique because of promoting modern footballing infrastructure. It's considered as the first professional club in
India, whose motto was "a new approach to the game".[18] The development of FC Kochin lit a spark in Kerala, with the football-mad people embracing the club with open arms.[19]
FC Kochin began their 1997
Durand Cup campaign by beating seven times Durand champion,
Border Security Force by 2–1. In the next match, they thrashed Kolkata giant,
Mohammedan Sporting by 5–0 with Vijayan scoring his first hat-trick for Kochin followed by goals from Raman Vijayan and B. Deepu. They went into the knock-out of their first Durand Cup as group-topper which attracted many Keralites settled in the capital to watch their match. In the semi-final, they locked horns with the then best team,
JCT FC.[22]
In 1997, FC Kochin participated in the
Scissors Cup and reached to the final, that held in
Kerala. The final, against Bahraini side
West Riffa, turned out to be a damp squib with the game abandoned due to a power cut in the stadium. The Bahraini team were adjudged winners after a coin toss.[30]
NFL seasons
In the coming years they were not able to replicate the form they showed in their first season, although they managed to come fourth in the national football league in 1998. The next three seasons saw them finishing sixth,[31] fourth and fourth again in the
National Football League. This was the time when FC Kochin was coached by
T.K. Chathunni, one of the best football coaches in India.[32]
KPL wins
FC Kochin crowned the inaugural season of
Kerala Premier League in 1998, and later, they retained title, after winning the second edition in December 1999.[33]
POMIS Cup 2001
FC Kochin went to Maldives and took part in
15th edition of the
POMIS Cup in 2001.[34] After achieving second place in group stages, the club moved to semi-final, but lost 2–0 to
Club Valencia.[34]
Last season: 2001–02
For the 2001–02 NFL season, FC Kochin roped in Czech manager
Karel Stromšík as head coach.[35] They signed four foreigners, Ukrainian Mykola Shevchenko, Nigerian international Obinna Winners Onyia, Liberian national team player Josiah Seton, and Ghanaian goalkeeper.[35] In that season, the club earned 17 points in 22 league matches, finished in eleventh place and relegated to the NFL II along with
Punjab Police.[36] FC Kochin's Sunday Seah made a mark in that season.[37]
This list comprises notable Indian and foreign footballers, who played for FC Kochin (between 1997 and 2004) in the
National Football League of India. Some of them have also represented their respective countries before or after joining the club.
With reduced sponsorship money after declining performance, and with
Indian Football Federation failing to pay the dues to the club, it faced a financial crunch.[100] Unpaid salaries and exodus of good players led to a low performance of the club in the top league. The club finished at 11th position in
2001–02 season and got relegated to Second Division. The club played Second Division twice, but failed to get promoted to
Premier Division. The club could never resurrect itself after that,[101] and went defunct in 2002 after it was revealed that the club had not paid salaries since 2000 after running up 2.5 crores in losses a season.[102][103][104][105]
^Mukherjee, Kumar (2002).
The story of football. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India.
ISBN978-81-230-0782-3. Archived from
the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
Menon, Ravi (7 December 1999).
"FC Kochin rope in coach Chathunni". expressindia.indianexpress.com. Kochi: The Indian Express. Archived from
the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
^Chaudhuri, Arunava; Hai Naveed, Malik Riaz (25 May 2003).
"India — List of Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from
the original on 28 September 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
Bibliography
Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House.
ISBN978-0-143-42641-7.
Notes: The tournament was not held from 1914-19 (due to
WWI), in 1939 (due to
WWII), from 1941-49 (due to
WWII and
Partition), in 1962 (due to
1962 War) and in 2015 and 2017-2018 (due to unknown reasons)