 | ||||
| Full name | Inter Kashi Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Inter Kaashee ke Yoddhas (Warriors of Kashi) | |||
| Short name | IKA, IKFC, KSHI | |||
| Founded | 29 June 2023; 2 years ago (2023-06-29)[1] | |||
| Ground | Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium | |||
| Capacity | 21,600 | |||
| Owner | RDB Group of Companies | |||
| Chairman | Vinod Dugar | |||
| Head coach | Abhijit Mondal | |||
| League | Indian Super League | |||
| 2024–25 | I-League, 1st of 12 (promoted) | |||
| Website | interkashi.com | |||
 Current season | ||||
Inter Kashi Football Club, commonly referred to asInter Kashi, is an Indian professionalfootball club based inVaranasi,Uttar Pradesh. The club currently competes in theIndian Super League (ISL), the top tier league of theIndian football league system.[2][3] It is the first professional club from the state of Uttar Pradesh to play in a national level league of the country.[4][5] The club is in collaboration with Spanish clubAtlético Madrid and Andorran clubInter Escaldes, and is in association with Andorran clubFC Andorra.[2][6][7]
Inter Kashi is also the official Event App Sponsor and Event Partner ofSoccerex Miami on 14 November 2024 marking their leap inCONCACAF footballing sector after getting associated with multipleUEFA clubs.[8][9][10][2]
The club ended their2023–24 I-League season campaign coming fourth position.[11] They ended the controversial2024-25 I-League as runners-up, but after string of appeals and re-appeals in AIFF Appeal Committee andCourt of Arbitration for Sports, they were crowned champions on 18 July 2025 and were promoted to the Indian top-flight football league, the ISL.[12]
In May 2023, theAll India Football Federation, the governing body offootball in India, announced they would accept bids for new clubs to join2023–24 I-League season onwards.[13] 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.[14][15] 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 withInter Escaldes.[16]
The club also announced creation of the Atlético de Bharat Academy for the development of grassroots football in the state.[17] Spaniard Carlos Santamarina was chosen as the first head coach of the club, while Javier Broch andArata Izumi were roped in as assistant coach.[18] English footballerPeter Hartley was the first player signed by the club.[19]
On 28 October 2023, Inter Kashi played their first ever official match againstGokulam 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.[20] Their first win came againstNamdhari on 6 November 2023.[21] On 21 November, Inter Kashi played their first I-League home match againstMohammedan in theEkana Football Stadium inLucknow.[22] In October 2024, Inter Kashi's two players Sachu Siby andHarmanpreet Singh joinedPrimera Divisió outfitInter Club d'Escaldes but Sachu Siby was not able to pursue it because of visa restrictions.[23]
Thesecond season for them remains controversial and is also their first season playing out ofUttar Pradesh after their previous home venueEkana Football Stadium was declared unfit to play and they had to shift toKalyani Stadium inNadia.[24][25] On 22nd November 2024, they played their first match on their new home ground which also remained the league opener match againstSC Bengaluru.[26] Inter Kashi proposed to shift their home stadium fromKalyani Stadium,Nadia toIndira Gandhi Athletic Stadium,Guwahati till their new stadium inVaranasi get build.[27]
Thesecond season of Inter Kashi remained controversial while having remarks from various members of Indian football and allegations byDelhi FC's recent owner Ranjit Bajaj who also ownsMinerva Academy.[28] Inter Kashi appealed againstNamdhari FC of playing an ineligible player in match no. 45 for which AIFF Disciplinary Committee awarded 3 points to Inter Kashi and voided the match as win for them which was later stayed by the order of AIFF Appeal Committee and the result of the order will be declared on 28th of April.[29][30] While the owner ofChurchill Brothers, previous owner and father of the2024-25CEO of the team, Valanka Alemao (also theChairperson ofAIFF),[31]Churchill Alemao also accused Inter Kashi among the controversial row.[32] While Inter Kashi has also raised serious concerns regarding disparity and clarity fromAll India Football Federation.[33][34] They raised concerns regarding rules and mismanagement that happened towards them for theseason decider match of round 21, betweenChurchill Brothers and Inter Kashi which they make allegations againstChurchill Brothers for not letting them practice on the ground at which match will happen as given inAIFF rule book.[35] This match remained so controversial thatAIFF had to invite referees to officiate the match fromNepal.[36] The match also saw eightyellows and onered and a controversial goal which was argued to be a handball but was given by the referees.[37][38][39] Inter Kashi's coachAntonio Habas said it as a new low in Indian football.Namdhari FC also appealed against Inter Kashi for fielding an extra foreigner in I-League which was related toMario Barco.[40] The end of this controversy from All India Football Federation (AIFF) ended withChurchill Brothers be declared as winners and Inter Kashi as runners-up.[12] Inter Kashi went toCAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) on 27th April 2025 against the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Appeals Committee's decision to award the I-League title toChurchill Brothers. This decision was made after the AIFF Appeals Committee reversed an earlier decision that awarded the title to Inter Kashi. CAS has now issued an order staying the AIFF Appeals Committee's decision and preventing AIFF from declaring a winner or holding a medal ceremony until the CAS arbitration is concluded.[41] But AIFF concluded the ceremony disregarding CAS's decision and awarded the trophy and medals to Churchill's players and also without the presence of State Football Association in the ceremony.[42] This action drew criticism from theGoa Football Association (GFA) and raised questions about the AIFF's credibility and its relationship with state associations.[43] The AIFF later acknowledged the CAS stay order and asked Churchill Brothers to return the trophy.[44] The CAS case is ongoing, and the final outcome of the 2024-25 I-League season remains uncertain.[45] The AIFF's decision was overturned by the CAS ruling on 18 July 2025 which crowned Inter Kashi the champions of the season's I-League.[46]
The women team,Inter Kashi FC (women) took part in2024–25 Indian Women's League 2 as marking their debut season infemale football.[47]
Inter Kashi fielded their junior section inUnder 17 2024–25 Indian Youth League andUnder 13 Sub Junior Youth League.
The Under 17 side finished last in theirdebut season ofIndian Youth League winning a single match against SKM Sporting Foundation. It was their first season in any league playing in their home city,Varanasi on BLW Railways Ground after their birth.[48]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach & scout |  Deepak Deshwal |
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win% | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devan Daniel Kalathil Palankandi |  Italy | 4 January 2025 | 29 March 2025 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 10% | [49] |
| Deepak Deshwal | India | 31 April 2025 | Present | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | [50] |
The Under 13 side is playing their matches for their debut league inSub Junior Youth League on a neutral venue on Aghornath Park Stadium inKalna.[51] In their debut match of their debut season, they defeatedOdisha FC with an outstanding 5-1 win.[52]
Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Bimlesh Yadav |
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win% | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bimlesh Yadav | India | 28 April 2025 | Present | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 33.33% | [53] |
The club announced the opening of Atlético de Bharat Residential Academy in Sant Atulanand Convent School with the partnership of Dr. Vandana Singh - Director of Sant Atulanand Convent School for U13, U15 and U17 batch inVaranasi on 25th March 2025.[54] The club has already hosted aFutsal tournament Futsal For All Day on 27 August 2024 with partnership of Sant Atulanand Convent School,Uttar Pradesh Football Sangh andAll India Football Federation in their academy location with 21 teams competing across 5 categories.[55][56] The club also hosted Inter Kashi Purnima Masik Pratiyogita 2024 in the same venue on 17 September 2024 as a tournament where 120 children from two different NGOs that are Meera Foundation and Sewa Samarpan Sansthan participated.[57]
The club with the opening announcement also announced Pan-India trials for their academy happening in 10states and 1union territory.[58] The home state,Uttar Pradesh witnessed trials in 11 cities. The club announced partnership with different clubs and venue partners for different trials in different cities.[59]
In the Inter Kashi's crest,Tripundra (three horizontal lines on the top of the crest) resemblesLord Shiva's threefold power of will (icchāśakti), knowledge (jñānaśakti), and action (kriyāśakti). The graphical image below the club name on the crest portraitsManikarnika Ghat.[60]
Their third kit was released on 18 January 2025 as a tribute toMaha Kumbh held onPrayagraj.[61]
| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | Back sponsor | Chest sponsor | Sleeves sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | SIX5SIX | Cello | Uttar Pradesh Tourism | RDB Group | |
| 2024–25 | Hummel | UCO Bank | IndiaShoppe | Cello | |
| RRP S4E Innovation Pvt. Ltd. | |||||
| 2025-26 | Trak Only |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head coach |  Antonio López Habas[62] |
| Assistant coach | Carlos Fonseca[63] |
| Strength & conditioning coach | Alberto Santana[64] |
| Goalkeeping coach | Fernando Llopis[65] |
| Luis García | |
| Abhijit Mondal[66] | |
| Team manager | Abdeali Fatema Deesawala |
| Media manager | Bhaswar Dey |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Vinod Dugar[67] |
| President | Prithijit Das[68] |
| Co-founder | Aryaman Shukla[69] |
| Chief Operaions Officer | Bhaskar Basu[70] |
| Name | Nationality | From | To | P | W | D | L | Win% | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Santamarina | Spain | 7 July 2023 | 31 May 2024 | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 38.46% | [71] |
| Arata Izumi | India | 27 July 2024 | 31 August 2024 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 33.33% | [72] |
| Antonio López | Spain | 5 July 2024 | Present | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 47.61% | [73] |
| Abhijit Mondal | India | 26 October 2025 | 1 November 2025 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.00% | [74] |
| Deepak Deshwal | India | 22 November 2025 | Present |
| Period | Name |
|---|---|
| 2023–2024 | Arindam Bhattacharya |
| 2024–2025 | Sumeet Passi |
| 2025–2026 | |
| 2025 | Mohd. Kaif |
| Season | League | Super Cup | Durand Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | Tier | No. of teams | Position | |||
| 2023–24 | I-League | II | 13 | 4th | Group Stage | -[a] |
| 2024–25 | II | 12 | 1st | Quarter final | Group Stage | |
| 2025–26 | Indian Super League | I | 14 | DNP | ||
| Season | Division | Top scorer | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Position | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Player | Goals | |
| 2023–24 | I-League | 4th | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 47 | 41 | Mario Barco | 12 |
| 2024–25 | 1st | 22 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 31 | 12 |  Nikola Stojanović | 9 | |
| Top scorers record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Player | Career | I-League | Super Cup | Durand Cup | Total |
| 1 | Mario Barco | 2023– | 16 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| 2 | Nikola Stojanović | 2024–2025 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 3 | Edmund Lalrindika | 2023–2025 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 4 | Jordan Lamela | 2023–24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Domi Berlanga | 2024–2025 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 6 | Asif Khan | 2023-2025 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Gyamar Nikum | 2023–2024 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| Tomba Singh Haobam | 2023– | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |
| 9 | Muhammad Ajsal | 2023–2024 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Joni Kauko | 2024–2025 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Sumeet Passi | 2023– | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Matija Babović | 2025– | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
League
The following Inter Kashi players have been capped atsenior/youth international level. Years in brackets indicate their spells at the club.
Sehnaj Singh (2023)[75][76] Fran Gómez (2023–2024)[77]Jackichand Singh (2023–2024)[78][79]Deepak Devrani (2023–2024)[80]Lalruatthara (2023–2024)[81][82]Sandip Mandi (2023–)[83][84]Arindam Bhattacharya (2023–)[72]Edmund Lalrindika (2023–2025)[85][86]Sumeet Passi (2023–)[87][88]
Gianni dos Santos (2024)[89]Harmanpreet Singh (2024-)[72]
Joni Kauko (2024–2025)[90][91]Narayan Das (2024–2025)[92][93]Sarthak Golui (2024–2025)[94][93]Matija Babović (2025–)[95]The following clubs are affiliated with Inter Kashi:
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