Will play without foreign players, Malayali players will be given importance; Kerala Blasters announces launch of women's team

KOCHI: Kerala Blasters FC, the football club in the Indian Super League (ISL) have announced the launch of their senior women's team.

The squad will participate in the upcoming Kerala Women's League organized by Kerala Football Association (KFA) and compete to win the title and qualify for the Indian

Women's League (IWL). In the next 2-3 years, the club also aims to represent the country at the AFC level. Kerala Blasters FC, the football club in the Indian Super League (ISL) have announced the launch of their senior women's team.

Rizwan was designated as the Director of Kerala Blaster's Academy and Women's Team. The club has appointed Shereef Khan AV as the first Head Coach of the Women's team on a long-term contract.

"For Kerala Blasters FC, this project has been in the works for quite a while. As of today, Kerala has no representation in the Indian National team. This scenario should be changed. We have the vision to work towards that and develop our players into that calibre. KBFC contributing to that will be huge and as a club, our influence towards that will be very crucial," Rizwan Director Kerala Blasters FC Academy and Women's team said.

"Kerala Blasters women's team is a start. There are many players in Kerala. They should get good training. They have potential accordingly. The biggest goal is to develop the players in Kerala. The goal is also to make national team representation for them. In the next five years, this team will become a big force and contribute a lot to the national team," he added.

"As a club, our vision and mission is to contribute as much as we can to Kerala football and Indian football. This year we are playing without foreign players. Indian players will be in the team this season. 50-60% will be Malayalis," said Rizwan.

"A woman player from Kerala was not seen playing in the Indian team. That is why this responsibility was taken. The desire is to boost the players from Kerala as much as possible and bring them to the national team," Shereef Khan first head coach of the women's team.