Inter Kashi FC

Inter Kashi Football Club is an Indian professional football club based in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The club currently competes in the I-League, the second tier league of the Indian football league system.[1][2] It is the first professional club from the state of Uttar Pradesh to play in a national level league of the country.[3][4]

Inter Kashi
Full nameInter Kashi Football Club
Short nameIKFC
Founded29 June 2023 (2023-06-29)
GroundEkana Football Stadium
Capacity2,000
OwnerRDB Group of Companies
ChairmanVinod Dugar
Head coachCarlos Santamarina
LeagueI-League
2023–24I-League, 4th of 13
WebsiteClub website

The club is in collaboration with Spanish club Atlético Madrid and Andorran clubs Inter Escaldes and FC Andorra.[1][5]

History

In May 2023, the All India Football Federation, the governing body of football in India, announced they would accept bids for new clubs to join 2023–24 I-League season onwards.[6] On 29 June 2023, it was announced that agreement for the Varanasi franchise had been reached between Kolkata-based RDB Group of Companies and European clubs Atlético Madrid and Inter Escaldes.[7][8] FC Andorra has an association with Inter Escaldes, but does not have any direct role with Inter Kashi. The moniker of "Inter" was added because of the tie up with Inter Escaldes.[9]

The club also announced creation of the Atlético de Bharat Academy for the development of grassroots football in the state.[10] Spaniard Carlos Santamarina was chosen as the first head coach of the club, while Javier Broch and Arata Izumi were roped in as assistant coach.[11] English footballer Peter Hartley was the first player signed by the club.[12]

On 28 October 2023, Inter Kashi played their first ever official match against Gokulam Kerala in the I-League. Edmund Lalrindika scored the club's first goal, and Mohammed Asif Khan scored the equalizer to earn the maiden point in a 2–2 draw.[13] Their first win came against Namdhari on 6 November 2023.[14] On 21st November, Inter Kashi played their first I-League home match against Mohammedan in the Ekana Football Stadium in Lucknow.[15]

Club crest and kits

Crest

In the Inter Kashi's crest, Tripundra (three horizontal lines on the top of the crest) resembles Lord Shiva's threefold power of will (icchāśakti), knowledge (jñānaśakti), and action (kriyāśakti). The graphical image below the club name on the crest portraits temple of Varanasi.[16]

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Back sponsor Chest sponsor
2023–present[17] SIX5SIX Cello Uttar Pradesh Tourism RDB Group
Nahar Group

Players

First-team squad
As of 26 March 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  IND Shubham Dhas
2 DF  IND Sanson Pereira (on loan from Goa)
3 DF  IND Bijoy Varghese (on loan from Kerala Blasters)
4 DF  IND Klusner Pereira
5 DF  ENG Peter Hartley
6 MF  IND Keisam Angelo Singh
7 FW  ESP Jordan Lamela
8 MF  IND Phijam Vikash Singh
9 FW  ESP Mario Barco
10 MF  ESP Julen Pérez
11 FW  IND Ishan Dey
16 DF  IND Sandip Mandi
17 FW  IND Edmund Lalrindika
18 DF  IND Tejas Krishna (on loan from Punjab)
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 DF  IND Kojam Beyong
21 FW  CPV Gianni dos Santos
22 MF  IND Jackichand Singh
24 MF  ESP Fran Gómez (on loan from Atlético Madrid B)
25 FW  IND Sumeet Passi
26 DF  IND Deepak Devrani (on loan from Punjab)
27 DF  IND Anil Chawan
29 GK  IND Arindam Bhattacharya (captain)
33 FW  IND Muhammad Ajsal (on loan from Kerala Blasters)
36 MF  IND Asif Khan
39 DF  IND Lalruatthara
43 GK  IND Nikhil Deka
44 MF  IND Haobam Singh
77 MF  IND Gyamar Nikum (on loan from Mumbai City)

Management and staff

Current staff
Position Name
Head coach Carlos Santamarina
Assistant coaches Javier Broch
Arata Izumi

Inter Kashi management
Position Name
Owner RDB Group
Chairman Vinod Dugar
Chief Operations Officer Bhaskar Basu

Seasons
Season League Tier Position
2023-24 I-League II 4th

See also

References
  1. "Collaboration agreement in the Inter Kashi project". Club Atletico de Madrid. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  2. "Inter Kashi eyes Hero I-League entry with strong European backing". The Bridge. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  3. "Inter Kashi Launched in Partnership With Three European Clubs, Eye I-League Participation". News18. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  4. "Inter Kashi Become Latest Addition To Indian Football, Partner With Famous European Clubs Including Atletico Madrid". English Jagran. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  5. "Atletico Madrid re-enter Indian football, partner with RDB Group to form Inter Kashi". Khel Now. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  6. "AIFF invites bids for new clubs to join Hero I-League 2023-24 season onwards". The AIFF. 5 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  7. Mergulhao, Marcus (24 July 2023). "AIFF likely to be left with only two new direct entrants in I-League". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Margao: The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  8. Mukherjee, Sayan (8 August 2023). "With only two new corporate teams, AIFF likely to persist with home-away format for I-League". News9live. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  9. "Inter Kashi AMA". Reddit. 7 July 2023. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  10. "Club Atlético de Madrid - Collaboration agreement in the Inter Kashi project". Club Atlético de Madrid. 29 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  11. Das, Shibashis (4 August 2023). "Arata Izumi becomes the assistant coach of the new entity, Inter Kashi Football Club". footballexpress.in. Archived from the original on 14 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  12. "We have kept you waiting long enough presenting our FIRST SIGNING — @PeterHartley88!". Inter Kashi Twitter. 1 August 2023. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  13. "I-League 2023-24: Inter Kashi bag first points against heavyweights Gokulam Kerala". Khel Now. 28 October 2023. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  14. "I-League 2023-24: Inter Kashi secures historic win, Overcoming Namdhari FC 4-2". The Bridge. 6 November 2023. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  15. "Inter Kashi face Mohammedan SC today". The Times of India. 21 November 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  16. TheSportsGrail (30 June 2023). "Inter Kashi FC owner, logo, jersey, players, football stadium, coach". The SportsGrail. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  17. Saha, Rahul (3 November 2023). "I-league Commercial Guide: A Complete List of the 2023/24 I-League Team Sponsors". sportskhabri.com. Sports Khabri. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
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