Having raised Kerala’s spirits, Gokulam eyes lift-off

The two-time defending I-League champion has played a significant role in renewing the State’s interest in football. Another triumphant season could see it make the step up to the ISL

Richard Towa and his boys are sweating it out under a bright sun at the Malappuram District Sports Complex Stadium near the northern Kerala town of Manjeri on a Wednesday afternoon. With Gokulam Kerala’s first match in the I-League just three days away, the coach from Cameroon has to ensure everyone is in perfect shape.

The task at hand is not easy for Towa. It can’t be for anyone who takes charge of a club that has won the league two years in a row.

Gokulam’s opponent in the first match is Mohammedan Sporting, one of Kolkata’s three best-known clubs. It was after beating Sporting that Gokulam retained the I-League title last May.

That match was played in Kolkata. Bino George is based there now, as the assistant coach of ISL side East Bengal. He will be keeping an eye on Gokulam’s match against Sporting on Saturday. He was Gokulam’s first coach, and was the technical director when it won the I-League for the first time.

He vividly remembers the phone call he received six years ago from V.C. Praveen, the man whose passion for football gave birth to Gokulam, which, in turn, played a role in the revival of the beautiful game in Kerala.

“I was working as a coach with Kerala Sports Council at the time and Praveen asked me if I could meet him at his office in Chennai to discuss the possibilities of forming a new football club,” Bino tells The Hindu over the phone from Kolkata. “When I met him, I found that he loved football and I was very happy to take up the job as coach. He gave me a free hand and I started looking out for the players. I managed to get a group of youngsters within the limited budget for the first year.”

Thus Gokulam Kerala was formed in 2017. It would have been tempting to dismiss it as yet another professional club from Kerala that was destined to fold up after promising the world, like FC Kochin or Viva Kerala. Both had played in India’s premier domestic tournaments but proved financially unsustainable. There were a few other clubs, like Quartz FC, that also found the going too tough.