Super League Kerala

Organising body	Kerala Football Association Scoreline Sports Unifed Football Sports Development
Founded	2023; 3 years ago (2023)
Country	India
Number of clubs	6
Current champions	Kannur Warriors
Most championships	Calicut Kannur Warriors (1 title)
Broadcaster(s)	Sony Sports Ten 2 DD Malayalam TV by e& Sports.com
Sponsor(s)	Sports.com Amul
Website	superleaguekerala.com
Current:2025 Super League Kerala

TheSuper League Kerala (SLK), also known as theSports.com Super League Kerala powered byAmul, is a men's professionalfranchisefootball league in the state ofKerala,India, organised by theKerala Football Association, Scoreline Sports and the Unifed Football Sports Development Pvt. Ltd.^[1][2] The league currently operates outside theIndian football league system and does not followpromotion and relegation.

The Super League Kerala (SLK) was established in 2024 as a franchise-based football competition jointly organised by the Kerala Football Association (KFA) and Scoreline Sports Private Limited. Conceived as an ambitious initiative to develop football at the grassroots level, the league aimed to professionalise the state’s football ecosystem and provide a platform for young players to compete alongside experienced professionals.

The six franchises of the inaugural edition were unveiled at a grand launch event held at the Grand Hyatt,Bolgatty,Kochi, in May 2024. The event was attended by several prominent figures from Indian football and sports administration, including former India internationalsI. M. Vijayan, Bhaichung Bhutia, and Jo Paul Ancheri, along with commentator Charu Sharma, actress Mandira Bedi, and officials from the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Kerala Sports Council.^[3]

The inaugural edition featured six regional franchises representing key footballing centres of Kerala:

• Thiruvananthapuram Kombans FC – owned by Gowri Lakshmi Bayi (of the Travancore royal family), Dr Mohamed Ilyas Sahadulla (KIMS Hospital), K C Chandrahasan (Kerala Travels), and T J Mathews (Kovalam FC).
• Forca Kochi FC – initially owned by tennis legendMahesh Bhupathi, CEO of SGSE.
• Thrissur Magic FC – co-owned by Kaz Patafta (Chairman & CEO, Brisbane Roar FC), Benoit Joseph (Magnus Sports), and Mohammed Rafeeq (Nusym Technologies).
• Calicut FC – owned by tech entrepreneur V. K. Mathews, Chairman of the IBS Group.^[4]
• Malappuram FC – co-owned by V. A. Ajmal (Bismi Group), Dr Anvar Ameen Chelat (SAT Tirur FC, Grand Hypermarkets), and Baby Neelambra (Saudi Indian Football Forum).
• Kannur Warriors FC – co-owned by M. P. Hassan Kunhi (Kannur International Airport Ltd), Mibu Jose Nettikadan (Castle Group, Doha), Praveesh Kuzhuppilly (Asset Homes), and Shameem Backer (Wayanad FC).

Following the initial announcement, several franchises underwent ownership changes and rebranding ahead of the inaugural season.

• The Kochi franchise was taken over by a consortium led by Malayalam actorPrithviraj Sukumaran, Supriya Menon, Nasly Mohammed, Shameem Backer C. K., Mohammed Shyjal K., and Praveesh Kuzhipally. The team was subsequently renamedForca Kochi FC.^[5]
• The Thrissur franchise was acquired by film producer Listin Stephen, owner of the production house Magic Frames, and rebranded asThrissur Magic FC.^[6]
• The Kannur franchise, initially known as Kannur Squad FC, was later renamedKannur Warriors FC.

The SLK was envisioned to serve as a bridge between Kerala’s local football circuits and India’s premier competitions such as the Indian Super League and I-League. By partnering with investors, sports entrepreneurs, and global stakeholders, the league aimed to elevate the state’s footballing infrastructure, coaching quality, and player professionalism. The organisers projected that the SLK would create new career pathways for Kerala’s players and coaches, attract regional fan communities, and position the state as a key hub in Indian football’s development pipeline.

Super League Kerala features six franchise-based clubs representing different regions of the state. The league follows a double round-robin format, in which each club plays the other twice. At the end of the league stage, the top four clubs advance to the semi-finals, which are played as single-leg knockout fixtures. The winners of the semi-finals meet in the final, where the champion of Super League Kerala is decided.

Malappuram

Calicut

Thiruvananthapuram Kombans

Thrissur Magic

Kannur Warriors

Forca Kochi

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Clubs locations

Calicut FC	Forca Kochi	Kannur Warriors
EMS Corporation Stadium	Maharaja's College Stadium	Jawahar Municipal Stadium
Capacity:50,000	Capacity:15,000	Capacity:30,000
Malappuram FC	Thiruvananthapuram Kombans	Thrissur Magic
Payyanad Stadium	Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium	TMC Stadium
Capacity:30,000	Capacity:30,000	Capacity:15,000

The first season of the Super League Kerala aired onStar Sports First (Malayalam) and streamed onHotstar andManoramaMAX (forGulf viewers). On July 21, 2025, the Super League Kerala signed 5 year contract with Sports.com (SEGG media) for broadcasting rights for a record $11.6 M.^[7]

• Football in Kerala
• Kerala State Club Football Championship
• Malabar Premier League

• Super League Kerala
• Football competitions in Kerala
• Regional Football leagues in India
• Professional sports leagues in India
• 2024 establishments in Kerala
• Sports leagues established in 2024
• Star Sports

• CS1 errors: generic name
• CS1 Malayalam-language sources (ml)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from December 2023
• Use Indian English from December 2023
• All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English
• Short description is different from Wikidata