Thrissur: FC Kerala, the club launched in Malappuram two years ago, has become a company and within a month, it is planning to raise Rs 2.5 crore enlisting 1,000 shareholders. Company director and football coach V. A. Narayanan Menon said it was a first-of-its-kind venture in the state raising funds from the public, and anyone can become a member by depositing Rs 25,000.
The club has won Thrissur district super league championship and put up a good show in Kerala Premier League and State Club Football Championship. CPM district secretary and former Assembly speaker K Radhakrishnan said while distributing the football kits to players here at Ramanilayam Guest House on Thursday that the aim is to form a club and company with public money, and only Rs 25,000 will be collected from a member.
“The deposit will not carry any interest and every year the members need to contribute Rs 2,500 each. The money from the deposit will be used to give world class facilities to the players. Several NRI’s who are passionate about the game have promised to become stakeholders,” M.R. Menon said. The aim of the club is to get entry to Indian Super League in four to six years’ time.
At present the team has 25 players including former ONGC player K V Lalu, who is the most senior among them, former Titanium goalkeeper Fernandez, upcoming footballers like Muhammed Aslam of Pazhanji MD College and former university player Bharatan. The mega launch of the club will be held before August 20, and 1000 members will be included before August 30.
The long-term goal of the club is to give membership to a lakh thereby raising Rs 250 crore. Other directors of the Kerala FC are KFA senior vice-president K P Sunny and coach T G Purushothaman. The Thrissur Corporation Stadium which has synthetic grass will be the training ground for the club, which will soon induct another 15 to 20 players by conducting selection trials across the state.
