Thiruvananthapuram, commonly shortened to TVM or by its former name Trivandrum, is the capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration population is around 1.68 million. Located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland, Thiruvananthapuram is a major information technology hub in Kerala and contributes 55% of the state's software exports as of 2016. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the "Evergreen city of India", the city is characterised by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills.
Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Karnataka with International cricket matches attracting a sizeable number of spectators who are willing to pay more than the standard ticket price to get a chance to watch the match. The sports related infrastructure is mainly concentrated in Bangalore which also played host to the 4th National Games of India in the year 1997. Bangalore is also the location of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) which is the premier sports institute in the country. Karnataka is sometimes referred to as the cradle of Indian swimming because of high standards in swimming compared to other states.
Many sports are played by the people in Kerala including both traditional sports and sports from other countries. Association football is the most popular sport in Kerala, followed by cricket. Kerala Blasters are the most supported football club in the whole state and participates in the Indian super league the top tier of Indian football. Whereas Gokulam Kerala FC a club which plays in the I-league derives most of its support from the Malabar region. However, larger numbers of Keralites also follow sports such as volleyball, hockey, badminton, and kabaddi. There are many large stadiums in Kerala across different cities. Trivandrum city has various sports venues such as Trivandrum International Stadium, Jimmy George Indoor Stadium, University Stadium (Thiruvananthapuram), Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium and Central Stadium whereas Kochi city has stadiums such as Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium (Kochi) and Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium. An international astro turf hockey stadium is located at Kollam city. Other major stadiums are EMS Stadium in Kozhikode, Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium in Manjeri, Kannur Indoor Stadium in Kannur, Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Kollam and many more. All these stadiums attest to the mass appeal of such sports among Keralites.
Raman Patrick Sisupalan is an English former professional footballer of Indian descent who is currently working as foreign coaches liaison at Kovalam FC of the Kerala Premier League. He played as a midfielder and last played for Viva Kerala FC of the I-League as a player of Indian origin.
Kerala United Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Malappuram, Kerala, that competes in the Kerala Premier League, a state-level football league organized by the Kerala Football Association. It is currently the fifth tier of the Indian football league system.
The Indian Super League (ISL) is the men's highest level of the Indian football league system. Administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its commercial partner Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL), the league currently comprises 13 clubs across India.
The Kerala Premier League is a state-level football league organized by the Kerala Football Association and played in the state of Kerala, India. Founded in 1998, the Kerala Football League was the first football league in Kerala, and was rebranded in 2013 as the Kerala Premier League. For sponsorship reasons it is officially known as the Scoreline Kerala Premier League. It is planned to run parallel to the Kerala Super League.
Bengaluru FC Reserves and Academy, also known as Bengaluru FC B, is Bengaluru FC's most senior youth team, and also acting as a reserve team. It participates in Bangalore Super Division and Reliance Foundation Development League. Bengaluru FC Academy is the youth setup of Bengaluru FC. Its teams participate in Youth League, Junior League and Sub Junior League tournaments.
Gokulam Kerala Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Kozhikode, 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 title to become the first ever club from Kerala to do so, and became the first team to defend the league title in 2021–22. Gokulam is also the first and so far the only club from the state to qualify for a continental competition, AFC Cup, in 2022.
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. 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.
Football Club Kerala is an Indian professional football club based in Thrissur, Kerala. The club made its debut in national level football through the I-League 2nd Division in 2017–18. They also compete in the Kerala Premier League.
Cricket and Football are the most popular sports in Thiruvananthapuram. The Sports Hub, Trivandrum, commonly known as Greenfield Stadium is one of the largest cricket and football stadiums in India. Athletics, shooting, volleyball, Aquatics and squash are the other popular sports.
ARA Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Founded in 2016, the club is nicknamed "Ahmedabad Alphas", and previously competed in I-League 2nd Division. ARA FC is the first professional team from Gujarat to compete in the nationwide league. The club also competes in Gujarat SFA Club Championship.
The 2018–19 Kerala Premier League Season was the sixth season of the Kerala Premier League. The season featured 11 teams which was divided into 2 groups and is played on a home-and-away format. The season kicked off on 16 December 2018. Kozhikode Quartz, SBI Kerala and Trikaripur withdrawn from the league due to financial problems.
East Bengal Football Club Reserves and Academy is the reserve team and youth system of the Indian Super League side East Bengal FC. Reserves generally consist of younger players, but at times senior players also play, if recuperating from injury or not getting first team game time. Apart from the I-League 2 (formerly), the reserve side usually plays in the Calcutta Football League.
The 2019–20 Kerala Premier League Season was the seventh season of the Kerala Premier League. The season featured 10 teams which was divided into 2 groups and were played on a home-and-away format. The season kicked off on 15 December 2019. Former participants Kozhikode Quartz FC, SBI Kerala, RFC Kochi, FC Thrissur withdrew from the league due to financial problems. Meanwhile, Kannur City FC withdrew mid-way throughout the tournament due to some technical issues. Kerala Blasters FC beat Gokulam Kerala F.C. in the finals and lifted their first KPL Title.
Rajasthan Perfect Football Club, is an Indian professional football club based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that competes in the R-League A Division, and previously participated in the I-League 2nd Division. Founded in 2018, the club first competed professionally when they were part of the 2019–20 season of I-League 2nd Division, the second tier of Indian football league system.
The 2020–21 Kerala Premier League season was the eighth season of the Kerala Premier League. The season featured 12 teams which was divided into 2 groups and were played on a home-and-away format. The season was originally scheduled to start in 2020, but was postponed to 2021 due to Covid-19 Pandemic. It began on 6 March 2021 across two centralised venues in Thrissur and Kochi. This season, Kerala Football Association decided to add two more participants into the league. KSEB and BASCO were the new entrants into the league.
Delhi Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Delhi. Founded in 1994, the club competes in both I-League and Delhi Premier League. The club debuted in 2023–24 I-League, the second tier of Indian football, following promotion after winning 2022–23 I-League 2 season.
The 2021–22 Kerala Premier League was the ninth season of the Kerala Premier League. The season featured 24 teams and was played on multiple venues. This season Kerala Football Association decided to add 12 more participants into the league.
