- Source: Viva Kerala FC
Viva Kerala Football Club (also known as Chirag United Club Kerala) was an Indian professional football club based in the city of Kochi, Kerala. The club was originally formed in 2004, as Viva Kerala. They participated in the National Football League, and later in the I-League, then the top tier of Indian football league system, alongside the Kerala Premier League. The club was dissolved in 2012.
Described as one of the most talented and youngest sides in I-League, Viva Kerala was one of the unluckiest sides in domestic league history. The club was briefly managed by noted Indian coach T. K. Chatunni. They got dissolved in 2012.
History
= Formation and journey
=Chirag United Club Kerala was formed on 8 August 2004 in Kochi. The club officially took off on 19 August in a ceremony at the FACT grounds. The team was predominantly formed by a group of businessmen who felt the need for the state's representation in country's domestic top flight league, the National Football League (NFL). Viva Kerala's name is the result of a contest, won by Dr. P Ramakrishnan of Ernakulam. The club became registered with Ernakulam District Football Association. Later known as "Chirag Kerala", the club won the 2005–06 season of Kerala State Football League, it's only regional title. In September 2006, they emerged victorious in Tirur All-India Football Tournament in Tirur, beating Travancore Titanium XI 1–0. They also reached the final of E. K. Nayanar Memorial Football Gold Cup in 2007 but lost at the end to the visiting Ghanaian club Nania Accra, by 3–0 margin.
In 2007, the opportunity for an NFL spot came in the way of Second Division NFL. Viva Kerala surprised everyone by finishing second in its group and qualified for the final phase. In the final phase, they finished as runners-up of the Second Division NFL to book their place in the I-League 2007–08 on 6 April 2007. The club along with Salgaocar, were relegated to 2nd division at the end of I-league 2007–08, for the first time in the league history. In the next season, Viva Kerala were promoted to the 2009–10 I-League, after finishing runners-up in 2009 I-League 2nd Division. In 2010, it was announced that I-League clubs needed to complete the AFC club licensing criteria; Viva Kerala signed P. K. Kunhikrishnan (A-licensed coach) as the new head coach. In August 2011, Chirag Computers was announced as the to be new majority owners and the club name would change to Chirag United Club Kerala.
In June 2011, Kolkata-based Chirag Computers bought the financially troubled Viva Kerala. They took over a 60% stake in the club while original owners retained a 40% stake. They also changed the name of the club to Chirag United Club Kerala. Chirag Computers have also said that they might move the team to Kolkata if they do not find a suitable stadium in Kerala. The name of the team was officially changed to Chirag United Club Kerala on 6 August 2011. While the new owners announced that team will be based in Kerala for the 2011–12 I-League, there were talks of shifting the team to Kolkata after the season. This would leave the state of Kerala without representation in the I-League. Many supporters of the club had come out strongly against this idea.
= Last season (2011–12)
=Chirag was eliminated from the Federation Cup in the group stages when they lost all three group D matches; Team coach K. P. Kunhikrishan was replaced by Sri Lankan manager Mohamed Nizam Packeer Ally. He guided the team in I-League. Pakir was sacked in February after a poor run; Ananta Kumar Ghosh was appointed coach while Biswajit Bhattacharya was appointed technical director. Chirag finished second to last at 12th in the 2011–12 I-League season, Pailan Arrows had finished 13th were exempted from relegation as a "developmental team", and so Chirag relegated. Though in that season, they achieved fame after giving a tough fight to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Botafogo in their 1–0 defeat at a group stage match in 2012 IFA Shield. Players may have had difficulty being paid when Chirag Computers may not have released sponsorship money to the club, and the reason why club got dissolved.
Club crest and kits
= Crest
=The Chirag crest was very colourful. It shows a yellow shield with the words "Chirag United Kerala", which is imposed over a Coconut tree and a Soccer ball.
= Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
=Stadiums
Ever since their creation Chirag United Kerala have used multiple stadiums in Kerala. For their first three I-League seasons Chirag used the Municipal Corporation Stadium which holds a capacity of 80,000 in Kozhikode, and Jawahar Municipal Stadium which holds a capacity of 30,000 in Kannur.
They then after getting bought by Chirag Computers decided to move to the Jawarharlal Nehru International Stadium in Kochi which boasts a capacity of 70,000 and has working floodlights. They played all their home games of 2011–12 I-League at the Jawarharlal Nehru International Stadium.
Rivalries
Chiang United Kerala shared rivalries with other Kerala-based clubs including Kerala Police FC, SBI Kerala, FC Kochin, Travancore Titanium XI and Quartz Calicut, whom they faced in both the domestic and regional leagues.
Ownership
The club was established in 2004 by a group of businessmen with an objective to represent Kerala in higher circles of domestic football in India. Interestingly, the name of the club was arrived upon through a public contest organised by the promoters of the club.
The club was run by Musli Power X-tra Kunnath Pharmaceuticals. In July 2011, Chirag Computers came in and brought full stake in the club, changing the name to "Chirag United Club Kerala".
Notable players
The following foreign players of Viva Kerala have been capped at senior/youth international level, with their respective countries. Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club.
Georji Ventseslavov Bizev (2006–2007)
Yaw Amankwah Mireku (2007–2008)
Wisdom Abbey (2007–2008)
Wisoot Bunpeng (2009)
Peter Opiyo (2009–2010)
Charles Dzisah (2009–2011)
Bello Razaq (2009–2012)
Karma Tsewang (2010–2011)
Mohamed Kallon (2011)
Simon Azoulay Pedersen (2011–2012)
Isaac Boakye (2012)
Managerial history
Honours
= League
=National Football League II
Runners-up (1): 2006–07
I-League 2nd Division
Runners-up (1): 2009
Kerala Football League
Champions (1): 2005–06
Runners-up (1): 2004–05
Kerala State Club Football Championship
Runners-up (1): 2005
National Football League III (South Zone)
Champions (1): 2006–07
= Cup
=All-India Invitational Cup of Thiruvananthapuram
Champions (1): 2005
Tirur All-India Football Tournament
Champions (1): 2006
EK Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup
Runners-up (1): 2007
See also
History of Chirag United Club Kerala
List of football clubs in Kerala
Sports in Kerala
Footnotes
References
Cited sources
Bibliography
Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House. ISBN 978-0-143-42641-7.
Martinez, Dolores; Mukharji, Projit B (2009). Football: From England to the World: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-88353-6. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022.
Dineo, Paul; Mills, James (2001). Soccer in South Asia: Empire, Nation, Diaspora. London, United Kingdom: Frank Cass Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7146-8170-2. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
Nath, Nirmal (2011). History of Indian Football: Upto 2009–10. Readers Service. ISBN 9788187891963. Archived from the original on 22 July 2022.
Majumdar, Boria; Bandyopadhyay, Kausik (2006). A Social History Of Indian Football: Striving To Score. Routledge. ISBN 9780415348355. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021.
Basu, Jaydeep (2003). Stories from Indian Football. UBS Publishers' Distributors. ISBN 9788174764546. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022.
Shreekumar, S. S. (15 August 2020). THE BEST WAY FORWARD FOR INDIA'S FOOTBALL. HSRA Publications. p. 244. 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.
Further reading
Bhutani, Rahul (14 May 2018). "Chirag United and United Sikkim: The Two Extremes of Indian Football". thehardtackle.com. The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
"Football — the passion play in Kolkata". ibnlive.in. IBN Live. 13 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
"Viva Kerala signs british born Patrick Sisupalan". footballkerala.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
"Can Viva Kerala prove their mettle this time?". The New Indian Express. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
"Viva Kerala pulls out from IFA Shield". indianfootball.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
"Senyo sparkles in Indian league". ghanasoccernet.com. Modern Ghana. 30 October 2009. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018.
Sengupta, Rahul (17 January 2010). "I-League: Viva Ride Reuben Goal To Win At Home". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018.
Easwar, Nisanth V (12 May 2020). "Down the memory lane: The magnificent Kerala Police of the 1980–90s". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
R, Ramu (20 February 2020). "For TTPL, football and volleyball teams are a distant dream". The New Indian Express. Thiruvananthapuram. Express News Service. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
"Dempo rope in Anil Kumar". The Times of India. Margao. PTI. 18 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012.
George, Arun. "Chirag United Kerala regains its striker". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
Noronha, Anselm. "Sporting Clube De Goa 2–0 Chirag United Kerala – James Moga And Victorino Fernandes Score for the Home Side". goal.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
"Chirag United Kerala 1–1 Salgaocar SC – Packeer Ali's Side Pick A Point Against The Defending Champions". goal.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
"Chirag Kerala 1–3 Mohun Bagan: Okolie comes to the rescue again as the Mariners grab all three points". goal.com. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
"Lajong, Pune FC in I-League". The Times of India. TNN. 19 April 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
Chatterjee, Arup (4 August 2011). "United SC ink deal with new sponsor". The Times of India. Kolkata: Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
"Josco FC to build soccer city". newindianexpress.com. Kochi: The New Indian Express. 26 March 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
Ghoshal, Amoy (1 July 2011). "Players To Watch: India Under-23's Saba Saleel". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
External links
Chirag United Kerala at Soccerway
Chirag United Kerala at WorldFootball.net
Chirag United Kerala at Everything For Football (archived 5 May 2022)
Viva Kerala FC on Twitter
Chirag United Kerala at Global Sports Archive
Viva Kerala FC at FootballKerala.com (archived 16 October 2009)
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