New I-League football club for Kerala gets nod

MUMBAI: The governing body for soccer in India has cleared Singapore-based MySports Management’s plan to form a new I-League club in Kerala, even as it is yet to decide on the cashstrapped official league’s merger with the Indian Super League ( ISL), which is backed by private firms.

MySports’ CEO Jiri Cerny told ET that the sports management company has received a go ahead from the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) to launch a new team in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the 2018 season.

“We have approval from the federation and a five-year strategic plan in place,” Cerny said, adding that MySports already has European companies supporting the team. “We will be spending close to `20 crore per season, which is six times more than this year I-League winner Aizawl FC, but at the same time, 30% less than what anormal ISL team spends.”

Cerny said MySports will bring in western management and foreign coaches in help popularise football. “We are coming to develop football in India. We also have plans to start a football academy where we will train young talented kids between 9-16 years,” he said.

According to Cerny, initially the team will have to depend on international players as well as players from other regions, but going forward, the club will train players in the state itself.