Chirag United Club Kerala

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This article is about the club from Kerala that was sponsored by Chirag. For the Kolkata sponsored club, see Prayag United S.C..


Chirag United Club Kerala, (formerly known as Viva Kerala Football Club),[1] was an Indian professional association football club based in the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. The club was originally formed in 2004, as Viva Kerala. They played in the I-League, the top tier of Indian Football alongside Kerala Premier League. The club was dissolved in 2012.

Viva Kerala
File:Chirag United Club Kerala.jpg
Full nameChirag United Club Kerala[2]
Nickname(s)United
Founded9 May 2004
Dissolved2012
GroundEMS Corporation Stadium
Jawahar Municipal Stadium
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium
Capacity80,000 (EMS Stadium)
30,000 (JM Stadium)
80,000 (JLN Stadium)
OwnerChirag United Sports Pvt Ltd[3]

Chirag United Kerala is probably one of the most talented and the youngest sides in the I-League, but they are also referred as the most unlucky sides in the league too.[4]

History[edit]

Further information: History of Chirag United Club Kerala

Chirag United Club Kerala was formed on 8 August 2004. The club officially took off on 19 August in a ceremony at the FACT grounds. The club was formed by a group of businessmen who felt the need for the state's representation in country's top football league, the National Football League (NFL). Viva Kerala's name is the result of a contest, won by Dr. P Ramakrishnan of Ernakulam.

In 2007 the opportunity for an NFL spot came in the way of Second Division NFL. Viva surprised everyone by finishing second in its group and qualified for the final phase. In the final phase, Viva Kerala 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 were relegated to 2nd division at the end of I-league 2007–08. In the next season Viva Kerala were promoted for the 2009–10 season.[5]

In 2010 it was announced that I-League clubs needed to complete the AFC club licensing criteria; Viva 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.

NP pradeep and chintha chandrashekhar Rao of Chirag United in 2011

In June 2011 Chirag Computers bought the financially troubled Viva Kerala FC. 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.[6] Chirag Computers have also said that they might move the team to Kolkata if they do not find a suitable stadium in Kerala.[7] 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.[8] Many supporters of the club had come out strongly against this idea. Finally the club got dissolved in 2012.

2011–12 (last season)[edit]

Viva Kerala players (in white) in action during Kerala Premier League in 2011.

Chirag were eliminated from the Federation Cup in the group stages when they lost all three group D matches;[9] Coach K.P. Kunhikrishan was replaced by Sri Lankan Pakir Ali.[10] Pakir was sacked in February after a poor run; Biswajit Bhattacharya was appointed as the technical director and was put in charge of the team.[11] 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.[12][13] Players may have had difficulty being paid when Chirag Computers may not have released sponsorship money to the club.[14]

Crest[edit]

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.

Stadiums[edit]

Main article: EMS Stadium
EMS Corporation Stadium in Kozhikode, used as the hoke ground of Chirag United Club Kerala for the first thee seasons

Ever since their creation Chirag United Kerala have played in multiple stadiums. For their first three I-League seasons Chirag 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.[15]

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi

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.

Ownership[edit]

The club sense founding was ran by Musli Power X-tra (Kunnath Pharmaceuticals) mainly due the Power X-tra being major sponsors of the team. In July 2011 after not signing for then Viva Kerala, Chirag Computers came in and brought full stake in the club and changed the name to Chirag United Club Kerala.[16]

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors[edit]

Period Kit Manufacturers Shirt Sponsor
2004–2010 unknown none
2010–2011 Musli Power X-tra
2011–2012 RP Clothing Chirag Computers

Honours[edit]

Further information: Chirag United Club Kerala seasons

Domestic[edit]

Silver Runners-up (1): 2009[17][18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ Chirag United Kerala Season: 2011-12 I-League The Hard Tackle. Retrieved 2 July 2021
  2. ↑ Chirag United Club Kerala worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 February 2021
  3. ↑ The new Chirag United Club Kerala Sportskeeda. Retrieved 23 February 2021
  4. ↑ Bera, Kaustav. "Pailan Arrows 1-1 Chirag United Kerala: Pailan Fail To Capitalize On Their Numerical Superiority To Win". Goal.com. Goal.com. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "I-League: How newly-promoted teams have performed". Goal.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Krishnan, Vineeth (8 May 2012). "New owners for Chirag United Kerala?". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  7. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/article2299628.ece
  8. ↑ "I-League: Viva Kerala Hope To Stay In Kerala; Club Fans Ridicule Idea Of Shifting Base". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  9. ↑ [1] Federation Cup 2011 standings
  10. ↑ [2] Pakir Ali to coach United Kerala
  11. ↑ [3] Desperate Chirag United fires Packeer
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) I League table 2011-12
  13. ↑ [4] Chirag Kerala relegated
  14. ↑ [5] Unpaid dues to players and club haunt Chirag United Kerala
  15. ↑ "Viva Kerala Hope To Stay in Kerala; Club Fans Ridicule Idea of Shifting Base". Goal.com. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "I-League: Viva Kerala Renamed As Chirag United Kerala – It's Turning Into An Absolute Joke". Goal.com. 7 August 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  17. ↑ "ONGC I-LEAGUE (2nd Division) 2008-2009". kolkatafootball.com. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  18. ↑ 2009 I-League 2nd Division results Soccerway.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021

External links[edit]

Template:Chirag United Club Kerala

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