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.Chirag United Club Kerala. . worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 February 2021. The club was originally formed in 2004 as Viva Kerala.Global Sports Archive Team Info – Matches – Roster – Club History – Trophies: Chirag United Kerala FC. . Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 14 July 2021. They participated in the National Football League, and later in the I-League,CHIRAG KERALA VS. ARROWS 0 – 1 Soccerway.com. Retrieved 17 September 2021 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 Viva 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,India – List of Kerala League Champions. . rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 17 August 2021. its 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.Indian football results and table. . Rsssf.com. Retrieved 31 July 2021. 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. I League table 2011-12 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 Period Kit Manufacturers Shirt Sponsor 2004–2010Adidas 2010–2011 Musli Power X-tra 2011–2012 RP Clothing Chirag Computers

Stadiums

Ever since their creation Viva Kerala have used multiple stadiums in Kerala. For their first three I-League seasons they 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 Viva 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 Note: The following list may not be complete

NameNationalityYearsNoteT. K. Chathunni2004–2006A. M. Sreedharan2006–2010K. P. Kunhikrishan2010–2011Mohamed Nizam Packeer Ally2011–2012Ananta Kumar Ghosh2012

Team records Notable wins against foreign teams

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:80%; width:95%; text-align:center" |- !width="12%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Competition !width="6%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Round !width="10%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Year !width="13%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Opposition !width="5%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Score !width="13%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Venue !width="7%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|City !width="7%" style="background:Red; color:white; text-align:center;"|Ref |- |E. K. Nayanar Memorial Gold Cup |Group stages |2007 Dynamo Lagos |style="text-align:center; background:#CCFFCC;"|4–1 |Kannur Municipal Corporation Stadium |Kannur

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 Third place (1): 2007 Kerala State Club Football Championship Runners-up (1): 2005 National Football League III Champions (1): 2006–07

Cup All-India Invitational Cup of Thiruvananthapuram Champions (1): 2005 Tirur All-India Football Tournament Champions (1): 2006 E. K. 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 General sources

Bibliography

Viva Kerala FC

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