Super League Kerala is very forward thinking, says Ian Gillan

Calicut FC aims for top-tier Indian football with long-term vision, attracting coach Ian Gillan for development and progress.

When Technocrat V.K. Mathews launched Calicut FC, the long-term plan was a holistic development of football in Kozhikode and the ambition was to figure in the top tier league of Indian football in the future.

Australian Ian Gillan, who took over as Calicut FC head coach, shares the same vision as that of Mathews, the founder-chairman of IBS Software. The club’s long-term plans for football development and ambition drew him to accept the job.

After guiding Lalitpur FC to the Nepal Super League title in 2023, Gillan was looking for a fresh challenge and when the offer came from Calicut FC, he didn’t have enough reasons to turn it down.

“The level of professionalism at the club and their future goals were quite impressive. They had aspirations of playing in ISL and I-League in the future. I wanted to be part of a club which was progressive. It had a long term vision and its own development pathway and it is backed up by a successful corporate company. Hopefully, I can assist in the development of the club and move them forward in the right direction,” he said.

Gillan, who had coaching stints in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines, said Super League Kerala was a great concept for the development of local talent who would gain experience playing alongside the foreign players 

“As a development model, Super League Kerala is very forward thinking and it could be implemented throughout the country. I think the development of football in the States is required for the greater development of Indian leagues. If a few other clubs follow suit then football will be in a good space in the country.

“As far as local talent is concerned, it is a good opportunity for them to gain invaluable experience by playing with foreigners. We have quite a few good foreign players who are quite experienced and rubbing shoulders with them will put young talents in good stead,’‘ said the coach.