R B Ferguson Club has been one of the oldest football club in Kerala [1] and one of the oldest clubs in India. [2] [3] Established on 20 February 1899 in Thrissur, it was also the oldest football club in the southern part of India. The club was famed and played a huge role in promoting football in Kerala during the early 1900s. [4] [5]
The club was named after the Kochi Police superintendent R B Ferguson. [6] [7] The club was established near St. Antony's Forane Church in Ollur. Later on, it was renamed and run as Young Men's Football Club. [8] [9]
Thrissur, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and the 21st largest in India. The city is built around a 65-acre (26 ha) hillock called Thekkinkadu Maidanam which seats the Vadakkunnathan temple. It is located 304 kilometres (189 mi) north-west of the state's capital city, Thiruvananthapuram. Thrissur was once the capital of the Kingdom of Cochin, and was a point of contact for the Assyrians, Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Romans, Portuguese, Dutch and English.
Kuttanellur is a residential area situated in the City of Thrissur in Kerala state of India. Kuttanellur is Ward 27 of Thrissur Municipal Corporation. It is around 6 km away from the Swaraj Round. Kuttanellur is home to Oushadhi, a Kerala Government undertaking for manufacturing Ayurvedic medicines and a Government Arts College. It is accessible from Thrissur town and via NH 47, connecting Thrissur with Ernakulam. This national highway passes through Kuttanaellur, where there is a highway bridge. The proposed Thrissur Zoological Park at Puthur is in four kilometers from Kuttanellur Bypass Junction. Nearest suburban areas are Mannuthy and Ollur. It is famous for its Bhagavathi temple and the annual Kuttanellur Pooram. Kuttanellur is home to Oushadhi, a Kerala Government undertaking for manufacturing Ayurvedic medicines and Sri C. Achutha Menon Government College.
The Durand Cup is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF), the tournament is the oldest existing club football tournament in Asia and the fifth oldest national football competition in the world. The tournament currently serves as the curtain raiser for every Indian football season. It is open for any national club of any divisions, with guest invitee teams from different sections of the Indian Armed Forces, keeping the century long tradition intact.
Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature. Known for his works such as Kudiyozhikkal, Kannikkoythu and Mambazham, Menon was the founder president of the Purogamana Kala Sahitya Sangham, an organisation of Kerala-based artists, writers and art and literature enthusiasts. He was a recipient of several honours including Sahitya Akademi Award, Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Poetry, Vayalar Award and Odakkuzhal Award.
Ollur is a major suburban area and an old commercial town in the city of Thrissur of Kerala state, South India. It is about five kilometres (3.1 mi) away from Swaraj Round on old National Highway 47 (India) towards Kochi. From ancient time onwards, Ollur was a major business centre in Thrissur district. Now, this geographical area is part of Thrissur Municipal Corporation. It is situated between Kuriachira and Thalore on the National Highway. However, a specific identity for this geographical region is still there due to the urban setting of this region and its important religious institutions.
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The Feast of Saint Raphael or Malakhayude Perunnal is an annual festival held in Ollur, near Thrissur, Kerala (India), since 1839. It draws thousands of pilgrims. The Ollur forane church, founded in 1718 and dedicated to St Anthony, also houses a famous Shrine of Raphael the Archangel. This is one of the oldest churches built in 18th-century Kerala. The festival, held on 23 and 24 October of each year, is one of the most important Christian festivals in Kerala. The festival starts with the hoisting of the ceremonial flag on 15 October to mark the beginning of the celebrations in the church compound. It is one of half a dozen Christian festivals listed by Kerala Tourism as among the attractions of the state.
Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala is an Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical company situated in Thaikkattussery, near Ollur. It is managed by Thaikkattusseri Eledathu Thaikkattu Family, one among the Ashtavaidya families of Kerala. Vaidyaratnam runs a NABH accredited nursing home by name Vaidyaratnam Nursing Home and an Ayurvedic Medical College apart from two ISO certified manufacturing plants in Thrissur and an R&D centre in Thaikkattussery, under the flagship of Vaidyaratnam. .
Thrissur City Police (TCPD), a division of the Kerala Police, is the law enforcement agency for the City of Thrissur, Kunnamkulam and the temple town of Guruvayoor. The city police force is headed by a Commissioner of Police, an IPS officer, and the administrative control vests with the Home Ministry of Kerala. Thrissur City Police is the largest Police District in Kerala state covering an area of 570.79 Square kilometre.
Ollur State assembly constituency is one of the 140 state legislative assembly constituencies in Kerala. It is also one of the 7 state legislative assembly constituencies included in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency. As of the 2021 assembly elections, the current MLA is K. Rajan of CPI.
The history of football in India is a long and detailed one, as it was the national sport at one time. The impetus for this was to unify the Indian Army. There is evidence of football games being played in the army since at least 1949. India is home to some of the oldest football clubs in the world, and the world's third oldest competition, the Durand Cup. There was a time when football in India was highly celebrated. The Indian football outfit was called the "Brazilians of Asia".
Vailoppilly Sreedhara Menon Memorial Government Vocational Higher Secondary School, commonly known as GVHSS, Ollur, is a vocational higher secondary school situated in Ollur, Thrissur City and run by the state government of Kerala, in India. It is named after the poet Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon, who served as headmaster from 1936 to 1966.
Ittyanath Kunjikrishna Menon, better known as I. K. K. Menon or I. K. K. M., was a Malayalam language writer from Kerala, India. He also served as Secretary to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Football is by far the most popular sport in Thrissur. The city and district has contributed with numerable players, clubs, coaches, tournaments and stadiums to Indian football.
Thrissur District has four types of administrative hierarchies:
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 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.
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.
Jithin Madathil Subran is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indian Super League club NorthEast United.
Anil Nandy was a former Indian football player. He was part of the team that played for India at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He with his brothers Nikhil Nandy and Santosh Nandy are the only three brothers to have played for India.
Shanti Mullick is an Indian former women's footballer who played as a forward for the India women's national football team. Mullick is the first Indian women's footballer to receive the Arjuna Award, the second-highest Indian sports award.
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