Goal sit down with some of the founding members of the Official Supporters Club of Kerala…
As part of an exclusive series, Goal in collaboration with Manchester City and TECNO are going behind the scenes to tell you about the role of the Manchester City Official Supporters Club and how they are an integral member of the Man City machine.
In this interview, we sit down with some of the founding members of the Official Supporters Club of Kerala.
The club was founded during the 2013/14 season. They then received their official status from the club in 2016. This was also the first Official Supporters Club of Manchester City in India.
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Sreekanth PS, a founding member, spoke on how the group went on from just a friends’ union to an Official Supporters Club.
He said, “Initially we were a closed group and were limited to WhatsApp. We were not as structured as we are today. Along with running the Official Supporters Club, we also do a lot of charity work.”
Another founding member of the group, Irfan Pottachola highlighted that the group currently has 154 official members who are spread across four cities in Kerala where they had previously organized match screenings.
“We used to arrange a lot of matchday screenings, but the situation has of course changed now due to the pandemic. But before that we used to conduct bi-weekly screenings,” said Irfan.
Kerala is traditionally known to be a bastion of football in India. It is one of the footballing hotbeds of the game in the country.
Speaking about Kerala’s passion for football, Irfan said, “We always say that football is in the blood of Keralites. On the streets, people play football more than cricket which is different compared to the other places in India. We are very passionate about the game which is why the Premier League is very popular in Kerala.”
Sreekanth further added, “We also kind of inherited this love for football from our parents. It is safe to say that football is in our blood quite literally.”
