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Football is by far the most popular sport in Thrissur. The city and district has contributed with numerable players, clubs, coaches, tournaments and stadiums to Indian football.

Players

• Jo Paul Ancheri, former Indian football team captain and the AIFF Player of the Year is from Thrissur.
• I. M. Vijayan is a former professional football player known as Karutha Muthu (Black Pearl). Vijayan was crowned Indian Player of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 1999.
• Victor Manjila is a former goalkeeper. He represented Kerala football team in the Santosh Trophy 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1979. Manjila was the captain of the Kerala team that played in 1975 Santosh Trophy. He represented India in the 1976 and 1977 President's Cup in South Korea and Kings Cup in Bangkok.
• C. V. Pappachan has represented Kerala in the Santosh Trophy tournament eight times. He was instrumental in Kerala Police, winning two Federation Cups.
• Rino Anto has played for Kerala Blasters, Mohun Bagan, Salgaocar F.C., Bengaluru FC and Atletico de Kolkata.
• Rahul Kannoly Praveen, commonly known as Rahul K P, plays as a winger or forward, most notably for Kerala Blasters. He has represented India at various youth levels including the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017.

Football clubs

• R B Ferguson Club, the first and the oldest football club in Kerala, was established on 20 February 1899 in Ollur. The club was named after the Kochi police superintendent, R B Ferguson. Later, the club renamed as Young Men's Football Club Ollur.
• In 1947, the second oldest club in Thrissur, Aurora Club was formed by the football loving fans of Ollur.
• Thrissur Gymkhana, has won many tournaments across Kerala.
• FC Kerala competed the I-League 2.
• FC Thrissur Archived 13 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine
• Red Star FC, another club promoted by team of entrepreneurs from Thrissur, headed by Jo Paul Ancheri.
• Parappur FC, a football club having coaching programs for children at Parappur district, supported by the South Indian Bank.
• Thrissur Magic FC, franchise football club that competes in the Super League Kerala. The club was established in 2024 for the league's inaugural season.

Tournaments

The first football tournament in central Kerala was kicked off in 1925 by the Kochi Athletic Association. The tournament was held at the Palace Ground, now known as the Thrissur Municipal Corporation Stadium. Rama Varma XV, Maharaja of Cochin, has contributed 100 tola of silver for the tournament. The first winner was Church Mission Society High School Union, Thrissur. The tournament was winded up in 1930 when the first FIFA World Cup was started.N.I. David Memorial Trophy, once dubbed as the Football World Cup of Thrissur was started in 1996 by the then superintendent of police, in memory of N. I. David IPS who died in the office. The tournament had to be stopped temporarily in 2005, but was restarted in 2010.

Coaches

• T.K. Chathunni, also known as the travelling coach, was a coach in National Football League (India) from 1997-1998. Hailing from Thrissur, he has coached Dempo S.C., Salgaocar, Mohun Bagan, Churchill Brothers FC Goa, Chirag United Club Kerala and Josco FC.
• Victor Manjila is a successful former coach of Kerala football team that won the 1993 Santosh Trophy.
• M. Peethambaran, former Kerala Santosh Trophy coach is also from Thrissur]

See also

• Football in Kerala
• Sevens football

References

1. Indian Football "HALL OF FAME" Archived 19 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine indianfootball.com. Retrieved 25 September 2021
2. "Victor Manjila to coach Kerala". The Hindu. 4 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
3. "Victor keeps making winning a habit". Saudigazette.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
4. "Gone are the glory days". Sportstaronnet.com. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
5. "C. V. Pappachan gets favourable verdict". Webdunia.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
6. "About the Soccer Club". Gymkhana Club Thrissur. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
7. "Thrissur Gymkhana wins title". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
8. "Kerala FC unveiled on Friday". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
9. "Welcome to Red Star FC". Red Star FC. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
10. "Welcome to Parappur FC". Parappur FC. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
11. "Ollur's football club turns 115 years today". Mathrubhumi.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
12. "The first tournament". Mathrubhumi.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
13. "Thrilling restart to the World Cup of Thrissur". New Indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
14. "Inter-club football". The Hindu. 26 December 2010. Archived from the original on 19 January 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
15. "SPORTS AND GAMES". Kerala Police. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
16. "Thrissur FC: Thrissur Football Club". Thrissur.now. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
17. "FC Kochin rope in coach Chathunni". Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
18. "The business of football". The Hindu. 12 February 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
19. "Big lessons for a young club". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
20. "A home for Josco". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
21. "The League of foreign coaches". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
22. "Victor Manjila to coach Kerala". The Hindu. 4 April 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
23. "ictor Manjila Calls for More Tournaments in Kerala". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
24. "Victor keeps making winning a habit". Saudigazette.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
25. "Kerala honours Santosh Trophy-winning teams". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 May 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
26. "Kerala needs to look beyond Santosh Trophy". The Hindu. 7 November 2002. Archived from the original on 28 July 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
27. "Football in Kerala, a dismal picture of deterioration". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
28. "Kerala enters final on a day of goalkeepers". The Hindu. 29 October 2004. Archived from the original on 6 December 2004. Retrieved 6 July 2014.

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• Football in Kerala
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• Sport in Thrissur