Real Kashmir FC

Real Kashmir

Full name	Real Kashmir Football Club
Nickname(s)	Sheeni Seh (Snow leopards)
Short name	RKFC
Founded	2016;8 years ago (2016) [1]
Ground	TRC Turf Ground Bakshi Stadium (proposed)
Capacity	10,000 30,000
Head coach	Ishfaq Ahmed
League	I-League J&K Premier Football League
2023–24	I-League, 5th of 13
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Departments of Real Kashmir FC
Football (Men's)	Futsal (Men's) [2]	Football (Women's)	Football (Reserves & Youths)

Real Kashmir Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. ^{[3] [4]} Incorporated in 2016, the club predominantly competes in I-League, the second tier of Indian football league system. ^{[5] [6] [7]} Real Kashmir with its reserves side also participates in Jammu & Kashmir Premier Football League regionally.

Nicknamed "Sheeni Seh" (transl. Snow Leopards), ^{[8] [9]} Real Kashmir is the first ever club from Jammu and Kashmir to earn promotion to compete in any top flight football league of the country. ^{[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]} They also lifted prestigious IFA Shield title in 2022. ^[15] Club's futsal section has been competing in the state league, as well as AIFF Futsal Club Championship, the highest division of futsal club competition in the country.

History

Foundation and early history

The seeds of Real Kashmir FC were sown in 2014 after devastating floods swept through the region causing massive loss of life and property. To keep the youth, who had lost much during the floods—engaged, Shamim Mehraj, editor of a local newspaper named "Kashmir Monitor", and Sandeep Chattoo, ^[16] a local businessman, came together to arrange footballers. ^{[17] [18]}

What began as a community outreach programme garnered massive support from the local populace and it soon started evolving into something more. Real Kashmir FC as a club, formalised in 2016, ^{[19] [20]} and affiliated with Jammu & Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) under the tireless efforts by Chattoo. ^[21] Founded in 2016, Real Kashmir FC emerged as the first ever top flight professional football club in Jammu and Kashmir. ^{[22] [23] [24]}

Club Name and Crest

Club founder Sandeep Chattoo named the club after the his favourite football club Real Madrid from Spain. Real in Spanish translates to Royal, which is not literally intended in naming Real Kashmir. The club crest is of a Snow Leopard, which signifies the culture, landscape and climatic conditions of the territory.

Later years

Shortly after its formation, the club participated in their first national competition in September 2016 when they competed in the 2016 Durand Cup. ^[25] In January 2017, Real Kashmir roped in David Robertson ^[26] as their new head coach, and in July, it became the first club from Jammu & Kashmir to play on foreign soil by playing 4 matches in Scotland. They appeared in their first major tournament by competing in the 2016–17 I-League 2nd Division, ^[27] but failed to reach to the final round. ^{[28] [29]} They have been participating in all four categories of the AIFF.

In May 2018, ^[30] Real Kashmir FC earned promotion to the 2018–19 I-League by winning the 2017–18 I-League 2nd Division after defeating Hindustan in the final game of the season by a score of 3–2. ^{[31] [32] [33]} On 30 May 2018, Real Kashmir became champions of the I-League 2nd Division. ^[34] This was only their second season at this level, after the club's inception in 2016, earning promotion to the I-League for the first time ahead of the 2018–19 season. In October 2018, they clinched Jammu & Kashmir Invitational Cup, jointly with Minerva Punjab. ^{[35] [36]} In 11 December 2018, they witnessed one of the league's biggest wins, after they thrashed Shillong Lajong by 6–1. Real Kashmir achieved third place in their debut season. ^[37]

In August 2018, the Real Kashmir FC youth team travelled to Germany for pre-season training with one of the best football clubs in the world: Borussia Dortmund (BVB). The youth team visited the training centers where official BVB teams train. They also visited the famous BVB stadium Westfalenstadion. They participated in 2019 Durand Cup and reached the semi-finals, but lost 3–1 to Mohun Bagan. ^[38] On 19 December 2020, the Snow Leopards, as they are fondly called, added another golden chapter in their short yet eventful history by winning the 123rd edition of the IFA Shield tournament, ^[39] defeating George Telegraph at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. ^{[40] [41]} It is the first major domestic triumph since their inception in 2016. ^[42]

For I-League 2021, they borrowed three players (Danish Farooq Bhat, Adnan Ayoub, Farhan Ganie) from J&K Bank Football Club. ^{[43] [44]} In the 2020–21 I-League, the club finished their campaign in fifth place (Play-off), accumulating 21 points with 5 wins in 15 matches. ^{[45] [46]} As the defending champions of IFA Shield, ^[47] Real Kashmir began its 2021 edition campaign on 24 November with a 3–0 win over Indian Arrows. ^[48] They retained their title with a 2–1 win against Sreenidi Deccan on 15 December. ^[49] The club failed to make an impact in the 2021–22 I-League season and finished on twelfth place. ^[50] In midway of the 2022–23 season, the club roped in English manager Gifton Noel-Williams as new head coach, who succeeded Mehrajuddin Wadoo in February 2023. ^{[51] [52] [53]}

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2016–2018	None	The Kashmir Monitor [54]
2018–2021	Adidas [55]	Hotel Ch2 [56] [57]
2021–2022	SIX5SIX [58]
2022–2023	Nivia
2023–2024	Vector X [59]	Football for Peace [59]
2024–present	BK Sports	Casyno Days [60]

Stadium

Main articles: TRC Turf Ground and Bakshi Stadium

The club is currently using 11,000 seater TRC Polo Synthetic Turf Ground in Srinagar, as their home ground until the renovation of Bakshi Stadium. ^{[61] [62]} Since 2015, the ground is being used in I-League 2nd Division as the home ground for their rival Lonestar Kashmir, and I-League for Real Kashmir. ^[63] The ground is operated by the Jammu & Kashmir Football Association and renovated in 2015. ^[64] It has artificial turf.

Rivalry

Real Kashmir has a rivalry with their fellow Jammu & Kashmir-based club Lonestar Kashmir FC, ^[65] that participated in the I-League 2nd Division. ^[66] The team has also participated in the inaugural 2020–21 Real Kashmir Cup, which was hosted at the TRC Turf Ground. ^{[67] [68]}

Players

First-team squad

As of 31 January 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   IND Furqan Ahmad Dar 3 DF   IND Sowban Hilal Sidiqui 4 DF   IND Muhammad Hammad (captain) 5 MF   IND Ifham Tariq Mir 6 DF   IND Hyder Yousuf 7 MF   IND Mohammad Inam 9 FW   CIV Gnohere Krizo 10 FW   IND Mohammad Asrar Rehber 11 FW   IND Ateeb Ahmed Dar 12 MF   IND Huzafah Ahmad Dar 13 GK   IND Shivam Kiran Pednekar 14 FW   UGA Henry Kisekka 16 DF   SYR Shaher Shaheen

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 MF   IND Lalramdinsanga Ralte 18 DF   IND Dion Menezes 20 DF   GHA Kamal Issah 21 DF   IND Zahid Yousuf 22 DF   POR Carlos Lomba 25 FW   CIV Kamo Bayi 26 DF   IND Hafiz Ur Rehman Khan 27 MF   LBN Mohamad Maksoud 28 MF   IND Jeremy Laldinpuia 29 MF   IND Adnan Ayub 30 DF   IND Wayne Vaz 31 DF   IND Shahid Nazir 78 GK   IND Muheet Shabir

Current technical staff

Position	Name
Head coach	Ishfaq Ahmed
Goalkeeping coach	Mohammed Yusuf Ansari
Physio	Aamir Shafi Sheikh

Records and statistics

Overall records

As of 6 April 2023

Season	Division	Teams	Position	Avg. attendance	Super Cup	Durand Cup	AFC Champions League	AFC Cup
2016–17	I-League 2nd Division	12	Grp A-3rd	600	Did not exist	Group stage	Did not qualify ▼	Did not qualify ▼
2017–18		18	1st	2,108	Did not participate	Did not participate ▼
2018–19	I-League	11	3rd	9,246	RO16
2019–20		11	4th	9,034	Did not participate ▼	Semi-finals
2020–21		11	5th	🔒 Closed Doors ▼		Did not participate ▼
2021–22		13	12th
2022–23		12	5th	2,859	Qualifiers

Season by season

As of 6 April 2023

⭐	Top scorer in division
🇮🇳	Top Indian scorer in division

Season	League									Finals	Top scorer(s)
	Division	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Pos		Player(s)	Goals
2016–17	I-League 2nd Division	6	3	0	3	7	8	9	Grp A-3rd	—	Lago Dogbo	4
2017–18		13	8	5	0	23	14	29	Champions	—	Bernard Kouassi Atinder Mani Ritwik Das Danish Farooq Ifham Tariq Mir	4
2018–19	I-League	20	10	7	3	25	14	37	3rd	—	Mason Robertson Gnohere Krizo Abednego Tetteh	4
2019–20		15	6	4	5	16	14	22	4th	—	Mason Robertson	6
2020–21		15	5	6	4	23	18	21	5th	—	Mason Robertson Lukman Adefemi	6
2021–22		17	2	8	7	23	31	14	12th	—	Mason Robertson	9
2022–23		22	9	7	6	27	25	34	5th	—	Samuel Kynshi	6 🇮🇳
2023–24		24	11	7	6	36	19	40	5th	—	Gnohere Krizo	12

Managerial record

As of 28 October 2023

Name	Nationality	From	To	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Win%	Ref.
David Robertson	Scotland	2016	2022	70	34	20	16	96	64	048.57	[69]
Mehrajuddin Wadoo	India	2022	2023	14	4	4	6	10	15	028.57	[70]
Gifton Noel-Williams	England	2023	2023	8	5	3	0	17	10	062.50	[71]
Ishfaq Ahmed	India	2023	till date	1	1	0	0	2	0	100.00	[72]

Notable players

See also: Category:Real Kashmir FC players

Past and present internationals

The following Real Kashmir players have been capped at international level for their respective countries. Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club. ^[73]

• Taha Dyab (2018) ^{[74] [75]}
• Aaron Katebe (2018–2020) ^[76]
• Kashif Siddiqi (2019) ^{[77] [78]}
• Tenzin Samdup (2019–2020) ^{[nb 1] [79]}
• Zohib Islam Amiri (2021) ^{[80] [81]}
• Masih Saighani (2021) ^{[82] [83]}
• Nozim Babadjanov (2022–2023) ^{[84] [85]}
• Nuriddin Davronov (2023) ^[86]
• Shaher Shaheen (2023–) ^[87]
• Henry Kisekka (2024–) ^{[88] [89]}

Other noted player(s)

• Mason Robertson (2018–2022) — IFA Shield top scorer, with Real Kashmir (Chuni Goswami Memorial Award for Man of the tournament) in 2020. ^[90]

Other departments

Football (women's)

In September 2020, Real Kashmir FC launched women's development initiative named She Power Programme, in collaboration with Delhi Public School, for U-14 and U-10 girls teams. ^{[91] [92] [93]} Senior team was announced in August 2021.

Futsal (men's)

The futsal section of Real Kashmir has participated in the inaugural edition of Futsal Club Championship, ^{[94] [95] [96] [97]} in which they failed to reach the knock-out stages. ^{[98] [99]}

The team previously clinched the state Futsal Championship title for the 1st time in September 2021, defeating Downtown Heroes by 3–1, which was organized by Jammu & Kashmir Football Association. ^[2]

Football (youth men's)

Real Kashmir has been operating U13, U15 and U18 youth teams. ^[100] Their U15 team took part in Hero U15 I-League. ^[101] U18 team of the club competed in final round of the 2018–19 Indian Elite League. ^[102] U17 team later went on to participate in 2022–23 U-17 Youth Cup. ^[103] The U15 team participated in Nike Premier Cup. ^[104]

Honours

League

• I-League
  • Third place (1): 2018–19 ^{[105] [106]}
• I-League 2nd Division
  • Champions (1): 2017–18 ^[107]

Cup

• IFA Shield ^{[nb 2]}
  • Winners (2): 2020, ^[108] 2021 ^[109]
• J&K Invitational Cup
  • Winners (1): 2018 ^{[nb 3] [110]}

Award

• IFA Shield Fair Play Award (Ronny Roy Memorial Trophy): 2020 ^[90]

Affiliated club(s)

The following club was affiliated with Real Kashmir FC:

• Oxford United FC (2020–2021) ^{[111] [112] [113]}

In popular culture

Worldwide attention

Real Kashmir have received international acclaim following their participation in a BBC Scotland documentary named "Real Kashmir FC" that followed the team and their Scottish manager David Robertson, ^{[114] [115]} which won the best 'Single Documentary' category at the British Academy Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) or BAFTA Film Awards Scotland. ^{[116] [117]} It additionally won at the UK "Broadcast Awards" for best documentary, and the best documentary and best director for Greg Clark at the Rotterdam European Sports Awards. A follow-up documentary "Return to Real Kashmir FC" was then made and given a 4 star review in The Guardian . The documentaries were also broadcast on Fox Sports in the US. ^[116]

Global partnerships

On 22 October 2018, Adidas India announced its official partnership with Real Kashmir Football Club, the first football team from the Kashmir valley to qualify for the country's top tier I-League. ^[118]

"Through sport, we have the power to change lives and the Real Kashmir team is a great example of this. Real Kashmir and its players have shown dedication and perseverance under difficult circumstances and we are proud to support them as they create history."

— Dave Thomas, MD of Adidas India, expressed on a positive future with Real Kashmir FC. ^[119]

Beginning with the 2018–19 I-league season, Adidas became the official kit partner for the club. Also, beyond kit sponsorship, Adidas India aims at redefining the 'Real' Kashmir through the lens of sports and becoming a proponent of changing lives in Kashmir through football. ^{[120] [119]} The club is also affiliated to the Football for Peace, a non-governmental organisation headquartered in London. ^[59] Real Kashmir also took part in Football for Peace global conference at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, as an ambassador from India. ^{[121] [122] [123]}

See also

• List of football clubs in India
• Sports in Jammu and Kashmir

Footnotes

1. ^
   Represented Tibet national football team in CONIFA tournaments internationally.
2. ^
   Fourth oldest football tournament, organized by the IFA (W.B.), and played between the local clubs of West Bengal and other invited ones.
3. ^
   Title shared with Minerva Punjab FC.

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Further reading

Bibliography

• Shreekumar, S. S. (15 August 2020). THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR INDIA'S FOOTBALL. HSRA Publications. ISBN   9788194721697. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
• Sharma, Nikhil Paramjit; Gupta, Shantanu (4 February 2019). India's Football Dream. SAGE Publications India. ISBN   9789353283063. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.

Others

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• Menon, Anirudh (8 January 2021). "I-League preview: Second division or not, the I-League matters". ESPN. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
• "Durand Cup: Mohun Bagan beats Real Kashmir in extra-time, sets up final with Gokulam Kerala". 21 August 2019. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
• "I-League: East Bengal Hold Real Kashmir To 1-1 Draw In Thriller". 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
• "For path-breaker Real Kashmir players, football more than just a means of livelihood". The Times of India . 3 June 2018. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
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• Joshi, Rutvij (2 November 2020). "Real Kashmir rope in goalkeeper Anuj Kumar on loan from Hyderabad FC". khelnow.com. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
• "Real Kashmir FC: The underdog football team scaling heights". Aljazeera. 19 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
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External links

• Team info at Global Sports Archive
• Team profile at Soccerway
• Real Kashmir FC on Facebook
• Real Kashmir FC on X
• Real Kashmir FC at the-aiff.com