The Kozhikode-based team is placed in Group D alongside Assam Rifles football team, Army Red football team and Hyderabad FC.
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Gokulam Kerala FC has announced a 24-member squad for Durand Cup 2021 beginning at Salt Lake stadium on September 5. Malabarians, who are the defending champions of the Durand Cup, have left Kozhikode for Kolkata to take part in the competition. The Kozhikode-based team is placed in Group D alongside Assam Rifles football team, Army Red football team and Hyderabad FC. Their first match is against the Army Red Football Team on September 12.
In the second match, GKFC will face fellow Indian Super League (ISL) side Hyderabad FC on September 16th followed by the final group match against Assam Rifles on September 19.
GKFC are also the current I-League champions and the club has been slowly moving up the ranks of Indian football since it was founded in 2017. Moreover, the I-League side has provided a platform for the professional footballers of Kerala to blossom. Before the start of ISL in 2014, Kerala, which is a hotbed of football in the country was struggling because of lack of professional football clubs, now with the emergence ISL side Kerala Blasters and GKFC it has started to regain its lost glory and the 2020 I-League triumph was a testimony to that.
GKFC has been known to produce and promote local players like midfielder Emil Benny who won the I-League emerging player of the year award in 2020, he came through the ranks of the club.
This year also they have promoted two reserve team players to the squad- Rishad PP and Abhijith K- to the senior squad. Both are midfielders whereas Rishad was the captain of the reserve team that won the Kerala Premier League.
There are 12 Kerala players in the squad and eleven of them are from the Northern Kerala region where the club is based. Also there are four foreigners in the squad- Cameroonian defender Aminou Boubo, strikers Chisom Elvis Chikatara from Nigeria, Rahim Osumanu and midfielder Sharif Mukhammad. Afghanistan international Sharif will lead the squad in the Durand Cup 2021.
“We have given opportunity for our young players this year also. The number of Kerala players in the squad reflects our philosophy to build a team with local players. Defending Durand Cup is one of the top priorities and I believe, the team has the capability to do it,” said VC Praveen, the club president.
The club has retained 11 players from its I-League title winning squad. The likes of Sharif and Mohammed Rahid are likely to pull the strings in the midfield while Emil will be given a slightly attacking role.
Strikers Chisom Elvis Chikatara and Rahim Osumanu will have the task of finding the back of the net while Aminou Boubo is likely to marshall the backline.
“Our aim is to defend Durand Cup. It is a historic tournament and we will try our best to win the tournament. I believe that we have a strong squad to make this happen,” said Gokulam Kerala FC head coach Vincenzo Alberto Annese.
Goalkeepers: Ajmal PA, Rakshit Dagar, Vigneshwaran Bhaskaran
Defenders: Aminou Boubo (Cameroon), Mohammed Uvais, Pawan Kumar, Deepak Singh, Alex Saji, Ajin Tom, Mohammed Jasim
Midfielders: Emil Benny, Mohammed Rashid, Sharif Mukhammad (C), Zodingliana, Rishad PP, Abhijit K, Charles Anandraj
Forwards: Chisom Elvis Chikatara (Nigeria), Rahim Osumanu (Ghana), Jithin MS, Ronald Singh, Sourav, Beneston, Thahir Zaman
